Productive I.T. News & Updates

Revamping Rachel Mickenberg's Website

Thu, 09 May 2024 16:39:39 GMT

A Vibrant Transformation

In the world of therapy and counseling, a website is more than just a digital presence; it's a reflection of the therapist's persona, their approach, and the essence of the services they offer. When Rachel Mickenberg, a dedicated therapist working predominantly with teens in LGBTQ+ communities, approached our team to revamp her website, we knew it wasn't just about aesthetics—it was about capturing her warmth, her professionalism, and creating a space that resonates deeply with her audience.

Embracing Rachel's Essence:

Rachel's old website served its purpose, but it lacked the vibrancy and personality that Rachel exudes in her practice. She wanted her online space to be an extension of herself—warm, inviting, and reflective of her commitment to creating a safe environment for her clients.

Crafting a Bohemian Theme:

At the heart of Rachel's vision was a desire for a bohemian-inspired theme. This provided the perfect canvas for our design team to unleash their creativity. Drawing inspiration from the free-spirited nature of bohemian culture, we infused the site with organic elements, illustrations, and a touch of charm, mirroring Rachel's approach to therapy.

One of the first things our team tackled was the structure of the website. Rachel expressed her dislike for the grid-like layout of the previous site, prompting us to embrace a more organic approach. We incorporated fluid shapes and curves, symbolizing the fluidity of human emotions and experiences, steering away from the rigid confines of a traditional grid. Within meetings with Rachel, she showed our team artwork showcased in her office to help guide our team toward her desired idea for the new website.

Capturing Rachel's Essence Through Color & Imagery:

Photography and Color play a pivotal role in storytelling, and we knew it was essential to update Rachel's profile with images that truly captured her essence. We opted for caring shots, showcasing Rachel's warmth, empathy, and approachability.

She wanted her site to exude warmth and comfort, so we carefully curated a palette of inviting hues—soft earthy tones with a mix of modern pops of color. These colors not only soothe the eye but also evoke a sense of safety and belonging, crucial elements in Rachel's line of work.

Refined Copy, Elevated Message:

While the copy from Rachel's previous site formed the foundation, we worked closely with her to refine and elevate the messaging. Every word was carefully chosen to reflect Rachel's ethos, her dedication to inclusivity, and her unwavering support for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly teens and adults navigating their identity.

Celebrating the Transformation:

The journey from Rachel's old website to the revamped version was more than just a design overhaul; it was a celebration of her identity, her passion, and her unwavering commitment to her clients. The new website stands as a testament to Rachel's ethos—a welcoming sanctuary where individuals can embark on a journey of self-discovery, acceptance, and healing.

In conclusion, the transformation of Rachel Mickenberg's website was not just about aesthetics; it was about crafting a digital space that authentically reflects her personality, values, and professional expertise. With a harmonious blend of warm colors, organic shapes, and bohemian flair, the new site is a true reflection of Rachel—a beacon of warmth, acceptance, and hope for all who visit.

Top 4 Ways To Help Your Website Pop

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 14:00:25 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

1( Color Pallette

When it comes to website design, an appealing color palette is crucial. A well-chosen color scheme can capture attention, evoke emotions, and enhance brand recognition. Find colors that go well together and, most importantly, that you feel represent you!

2( Pictures That Pop

Having pictures that pop and catch your visitors eye are some aesthetically pleasing pictures! These can be taken by you or a professional photographer in a variety of settings. Placement of these pictures is also important too! You wouldn't place a bathtub next to an oven, right?

3( Catchy Verbaige

Now why are a couple of words important? Because when you hear a slogan, you instantly think about what that slogan represents!

"Eat Mor Chikin" - Chick-Fil-A

"Have it your way!" - Burger King

"The Happiest Place on Earth!" - Disney World/Land

Putting together a short, concise, and descriptive message can do wonders not only for your website, but for your marketing as well!

4) Mobile Friendly

Nowadays, 53% of all website visitors are using their mobile devices as opposed to a desktop. While that's an incredible feat, it does add another requirement to your website. No longer can you wrap up the day after creating a single version of your website. If you do, you're leaving out a massive number of users that could become paying clients of yours.

The idea with your website being Mobile Friendly is to ensure that it is responsive and optimized for mobile phones/tablets. Websites can even be built to act as an app which can bring seamless and easy use to your users!

Do you need a website that takes advantage of its digital environment? Or maybe you need a Marketing Agency that takes the time to understand you, your business, and goals? If so, schedule a meeting with our Founder and CEO, Hanan Wilson, and learn how Productive I.T. can help you and your marketing needs!

Top 3 Benefits Of Partnering With A Digital Marketing Agency

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 13:00:13 GMT

We've all been there. Dealing with an "at-home" project that we've attempted to tackle ourselves only to be met with multiple trips to the hardware store and spending hours watching YouTube trying to understand how to properly fix it. Sometimes it's best to call in the experts so you can have the project professionally done as well as save yourself some time and money in the process.

When setting up your digital marketing or website, it's not something that should be done quickly or without much thought as both are vital to successful marketing. Similar to the "at-home" project, there is more to properly operating your marketing than meets the eye and that's why it's best to call in the pros! Here are three ways a Digital Marketing Agency can help you!

1( Better Manage Your Time!

Running a business is incredibly taxing work, especially when it's a smaller business and it's your responsibility to juggle different hats. To create your own business is a feat in of itself! While wearing different might feel like a necessity, it's actually not.

That's why thousands of business owners hire third party accountants or suppliers to help carry the load of managing their business. It helps clear their plate so they can focus on running the business and leaving other aspects (such as accounting and marketing) to the professionals.

2( A Cost-Efficient Method

Time is money and money is time! The more time you spend away focusing on trying to organize your social media marketing and website as previously mentioned, the more time that goes away from managing your business making money. Investing in a Digital Marketing Team can be incredibly beneficial because a successful team will let you see a return on your investment by bringing in new customers!

3( Your Marketing Managed by the Pros

You wouldn't call an electrician to come fix your plumbing. I know I wouldn't! So let the experts come and manage your digital marketing for you! Any marketing team can understand how SEO, Schema, and keywords, for example, can affect your business but an even better team when that team knows how to use those tools for your benefit. Save yourself some time by letting the professionals take the wheel so you can concentrate on managing your business!

Do you find yourself needing more time to run your business? Or maybe you want to get the most that digital marketing has to offer? Then give us a call at 334-356-3561 or schedule a meeting with our founder, Hanan Wilson, and see what Productive I.T. can do to help your business' website and digital marketing!

The Ultimate 'Schema' to Success

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 13:00:01 GMT

Some might wonder if Schema is more important than SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and vice versa. While neither are right, they aren't necessarily wrong. In fact, they both work hand in hand because without SEO your Schema won't be found, and without Schema, Search Engines will not display your content as a "rich result."

What is 'Schema' and Why is it Important?

In order to understand what content is on your page, Search Engines use a tool called Schema. This is so they can accurately show visitors snippets of what they could be looking for.

As an example, when filling out a page for dog sitting services, we ensure that all of the relevant information, such as prices and service information, is on the page so the Search Engines can preview it! Having such information available will result your webpage to appear as a rich, informational result allowing for higher traffic.

'Schema' Your Way to the Top!

For this UnoCMS update, we've included a new way to include Schema information for the videos on your page! Simply click on your video and scroll to the "Schema" section. From there, you'll fill out the information such as the description so you can start getting noticed!

We've also included a few new features that will generate the Schema information automatically for you in your blog posts and your UnoCMS-powered native, digital store! That means you only need to create a new blog post or entry to your store and our new Schema feature takes it from there!

That's all for this update! As always, our Pro-Managed clients always have access to all of these updates as soon as they drop. Are you a Self-Managed client and wish to upgrade so you can have access to these new features? Or perhaps you find yourself in need of a website or any assistance with your maintaining your online marketing, then give us a call today at 334-356-3561 or schedule a 1-on-1 with our CEO and Founder, Hanan Wilson!

A Whole New Storefront

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 13:00:00 GMT

Our online stores have been such a hit with our clients that they keep asking us to create new features they can use to further their business. We, here at Productive I.T., are proud to say that we've heard the call and can't wait to show you what UnoCMS updates we have in store for our natively built stores!

The Artist's Storefront

Up until now, you've been able to pack your store with your best physical products such as home goods and delicious food. With the new update to our online storefronts, creators and entrepreneurs to sell digital items such as pictures, video, and various other products! This update is also perfect for artists wishing to sell their creations or musicians wanting to self-publish their own work.

This works just like uploading information for physical products or services but you would select "Digital Product" while creating your listing. From there, you'll upload the file itself and then any additional information that it might need. It's that easy! Your work combined with our easy-to-use storefront, set yourself up with success!

Refunds

Now in your store's management page, we've implemented the power to approve refunds to your customers. Powered by Stripe and Paypal, you'll be able to implement full, partial, and even shipping refunds should the occasion arise during your transaction with your customer. Refunds give you the power to maintain and even improve the relationship with your customer when things go awry.

That being said, once you approve a refund, the action cannot be reversed!

Automated Tax Application

Trying to work through getting the taxes set up properly can be such a bother. The guidelines are confusing, you aren't ever truly sure what to charge, and you want to avoid any and all mistakes period. We know, and that's why we've implemented a new Automated Tax Application system!

We have partnered with the world's leader in tax automation software, Alavara, to bring you the accuracy and peace of mind you deserve. When setting up the software, an account for your business will be created with Alavara so all of your information will securely stored. Once set up, you'll simply select what region you are in, and the proper tax system will set itself up! It's just that easy.

Here are some additional benefits to using our new Application:

Get live tax rates per order for every US or Canada customer at checkout (more supported countries coming soon)
View your transaction history
See per-transaction reporting in your Avalara account

That's all for this update! As always, our Pro-Managed clients always have access to all of these updates as soon as they drop. Are you a Self-Managed client and wish to upgrade so you can have access to these new and exciting features? Or perhaps you find yourself in need of a website or any assistance with your maintaining your online marketing? Then give us a call today at 334-356-3561 or schedule a 1-on-1 with our CEO and Founder, Hanan Wilson!

Putting the 'O' in Search Engine Optimization

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 12:30:00 GMT

Introducing More Ways to Manage Your SEO

We've got some exciting updates coming your way for our SEO services at Productive I.T.! We're constantly working on ways to improve your online presence, and these changes are going to take things up a notch. Now, you'll have even more ways to optimize your images with alt text, making them more SEO-friendly. We're also introducing a new feature that allows you to set pages to drafts, giving you more control over your content.

Google, No Indexing!

Originally, Search Engines would index everything involved in a website (including web pages, forms, blog posts, external links, etc.), allowing for a wider, and more unpredictable, SEO score. Now, we can tighten the reigns because we've added a new feature that allows you to tell Google what to and not to index. That means if you have a form or page that isn't quite related to your niche and SEO, you can mark it as "Do not Index" and further optimize your site for your SEO!

In addition, we have included a way to remove pages from your site without removing them! With our new "Set as Draft" option, you can have hidden pages for your notes or references while you work hard on producing the best site for you and your clients!

Alt Text and Tabs

Here's a well-known secret amongst the players in the marketing field: Images need Alt Text. Alt Text is used by Search Engines to determine what an image is. If you have a picture, then you must place it in alt text in order for the Search Engines to know the content and purpose of a picture. If there is no alt text, then it'll hurt your SEO score and, therefore, make it more difficult for your audience to find you.

Manage Your Content Your Way!

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 14:30:25 GMT

Our Content Library has everything you need to show your audience exactly what you are about!

When creating a website, trying to organize all your content can be a headache, leading to confusion and frustration.

And we're happy to say that, with our new updates to our Content Library, those headaches are going away!

Before, you would upload all of your businesses pictures, videos, and logos and it would be no cleaner than having it all sprawled out over a table. With our new updates, you can now utilize such features as an expanded library and folders to keep your content all organized however you please!

Media Manager

Let's dive right in to the powerhouse of the Content Library, the Media Manager. With it you have been able to upload your best photos, videos, files, etc. to display on your site but it would usually end up in a jumbled mess. Our new update tackles the way you can organize all of your content within the Media Manager.

Now, using our new folder feature, you can organize your content as you please such as collecting everything that belongs on the Home or Contact page. Or maybe you have pictures from one of our photoshoots you want to keep in one folder. Whatever your need, rest assured that with this new feature, nothing will be lost!

Expanded Stock Library

Speaking of media it's now easier than ever to try out a fresh picture or video for your online marketing needs. Our Stock Library has been updated to include even more photos and videos that will captivate your visitors. Whether you need a generic or specific picture, there are so many options that will bring out the best of your website.

Another new feature involves trying out a picture or video you like in the Stock Library. When you find that photo, you simply select it and an option will pop up giving you the option to try it out in the spot you have it in so you can decide if it's a perfect fit!

UnoCMS August 2023 Update

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 14:34:33 GMT

July has been an exciting time for your favorite digital marketing agency, and we can't believe that the summer is almost over. At least that's the case for a few, the rest of us are ready for the cold weather to come back in full swing. While trying to escape the heat, we've been hard at work updating our UnoCMS platform for our clients and we're proud to reveal some highly requested features that are now included with your UnoCMS subscription!

Google Tag Manager

If you have a Google Tools account, linking that to your website has become easier than ever before! Now, we proud (and a little relieved) to say that you simply enter your Google Tag into your site via our SEO portal and it will automatically install. Even if you have multiple sites, our new update allows you to use different tags so you can monitor all the information pertaining to your site. Gone are the days where you needed a specific code to be carefully inserted!

Flex Improvements

With our new Editing tool, Flex, editing a website has never been easier and more seamless, until now! We've made a few improvements to our Flex tool.

Text & Buttons: Content and Design are now text buttons instead of just icons so now you can clearly see what option is selected.

Widgets: While editing a widget, the name is much more visible to eliminate any confusion of what is selected!

Auto Reply for Contact Forms

No longer will your clients submit a form and wonder if they did everything right. Now, when setting up your contact form, you'll have the option to include a customizable reply that will sent automatically to your client once they click submit.

This is a great way to kickstart the conversation with your client and help build your relationship with them! It tells them that "Help is on the way!" and that you care deeply about their experience with you and your business.

Media Slider

When you go with us for all of your design needs, you'll also have access to a Media Slider! Our UnoCMS platform now offers a new widget to show off the best content to your visitors. Whether you prefer to utilize videos or photos, show your clients what you're all about! From Health and Wellness to eCommerce, you can rest assured knowing that you're putting your best foot forward when building trust.

Take a look at the example below!

And speaking of eCommerce...

Native Store Updates

We're proud to announce two big updates to your native online stores!

The first is a new way to secure your checkout process so your customers can now shop with confidence using our newly added Customer Store Log-In! With this new feature, customers will now have a safer and more streamlined experience. Customers will be able to shop "worry free" because of the new enterprise-grade security and advanced encryption methods protecting customers’ sensitive data.

The second involves including different payment options using Stripe!

e-Wallets - such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App Pay, MobilePay, etc.
Buy now, pay later payments
Bank transfers - including ACH Bank Transfer for US and Canada, and SEPA bank for European customers
Real-time payments

Bullet Points Are Getting An Upgrade

New graphics are coming to our bullet points!

Instead of the boring dot, we've updated our bullets to include different icons so you can grab the attention of your reader that much easier!

Old Bullet Icon

New Bullet Icon!

Caught your attention, didn't it?

And that wraps up our Summer 2023 UnoCMS Update! As always, our Pro-Managed clients always have access to all of these updates as soon as they drop. Are you a Self-Managed client and wish to upgrade so you can have access to these new features? Or perhaps you find yourself in need of a website or any assistance with your maintaining your online marketing, then give us a call today at 334-356-3561 or schedule a 1-on-1 with our CEO and Founder, Hanan Wilson!

Now Introducing...Workshop Wednesdays!

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 14:47:58 GMT

The Best No-Cost Solution for You!

Do you need a refresher on how to use the UnoCMS tools available to you and your website? Then Workshop Wednesday is the perfect no-cost solution for you!

Given in a group setting, Hanan will go over how to log in through the Client Portal, access self-training videos to utilize the UnoCMS features, and more so you can be better equipped to make the most out of your partnership with us. If there is time remaining at the end of the workshop, Hanan will also field your questions!

If you feel that you need more, we also have Personal "1-on-1" sessions available including Consulting sessions!

For more information, click the link below to be taken to the sign up page!

Your 2022 Checklist

hwilson@productiveit.com (Hanan Wilson) — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 15:45:05 GMT

What to consider when you don't know what to consider

Are you also taking advantage of the downtime between Christmas and New Years to contemplate your 2022 business goals? Then I'm sure your website's productivity is high on your list of priorities. If you do not have in-house resources to tell you, then I hope you'll find the following useful.

New websites pop-up every day, and updates are always being rolled out to improve user experience. It’s important to recognize that search engines aim to create the best user experience, so if your site does not fit their criteria, it’ll be less likely to show up during a search .

Search engines use crawlers to detect viable webpages. They pick up on trending searches and use keywords to find websites to comb through. If the algorithm finds a worthy page, it will be indexed, but that’s only the first part of the process. Other criteria will need to be met to rank where your page will show up during searches.

There are many ways to enhance your URL, and the following checklist will help you to renew your website for search engine optimization (SEO).

Content

Google uses expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EAT) to rank web pages, so regardless of the type of content you produce, you want it to be high quality and consistent. Titles should grab audience attention while the content supports and retains their interest while providing adequate and reliable information.

There are a number of aspects that impact how your content will get you ranked, including length, topic, media type, and more. As you are auditing your content, consider hiring a writer or editor who has a background in SEO.

As you develop content, there are a few particulars to keep in mind:

Keywords

Search engines look for trending topics and pick up on specific words that relate to said topic. Those words are used as keywords in searches. It may be tempting to put in as many keywords as possible, but too many terms will dilute your content and make it less relevant to the search engine. You want words that hone to your niche without being too specific.

Video

Video content has become extremely popular, so you should consider adding it into your content planning. Photo and text-based materials will still have their place, but videos will help you to stay relevant to improve your ranking.

Linking

Linking within your web pages is vital, so be sure to provide appropriate links that warrant clicks. Choosing to link to an untrustworthy site will tank your credibility and lower your ranking. In addition, you want your page to be linked from other sites, and providing quality information will make your web pages more appealing to link to.

Tidy your website

Fix broken links, renew outdated/low-quality information, increase load speed, and develop mobile compatibility to boost the credibility and usability of your website. Crawlers also pick up on the readability of your pages, so be sure to write and organize pages in a way that is easy to understand.

If your site has enough problems, it may fail to index or be removed from a search engine’s index . Routinely go through your website to keep your site running optimally and consider web optimization tools that will aid you flagging mistakes.

Analytics

Use analytics to your advantage. They can help you determine who your audience is and what type of content they will engage with. You can use this information to develop appealing content that will drive users to your site. If your pages become linked, it can help your ranking by increasing your authoritativeness.

Security

If you want a credible and trustworthy website, you need to have robust cybersecurity. A combination of security defenses is the best strategy for cyber protection. Firewalls, VPNs, and proper web browsing habits are just a few of the many ways to protect you and your client’s data.

Conclusion

Ultimately, a search engine must decide if your URL is worth sharing. Does your website meet the following criteria of quality, reliability, credibility, and relevance? If not, it is time to renovate to guarantee you’ll be able to compete with other sites.

HOW OUR UNO CMS PLATFORM PRIORITIZES SEO

If you are in the market for a website builder, it is vital to choose one that prioritizes SEO so that you can pull traffic to your site. SEO may feel like another thing to add to your plate to worry about, but you will gain numerous benefits like credibility, authentic traffic, assistance in better content creation, and more. Our UNO CMS website builder has many strategies for SEO to help you on your way.

Get indexed

Trends are a great wave to ride to gain user traffic, but you must be discoverable for that to happen. Search engines can be flooded with content to crawl through, which means your page may be overlooked. Our Uno CMS platform supports IndexNow which will ping a search engine that your site has been changed, and the search engine will know to crawl your site and update its index.

Rendering plays another role in indexing speed. The longer it takes your site to render, the longer it will take a crawler to sort through that information. DIYers beware - it may be difficult to sort through code to figure out what is causing the delay in rendering. To avoid this, our Uno CMS platform has optimization built into their program, so you can focus more on your business rather than sorting through long lines of code.

Analytics

Our Uno CMS platform allows you to explore a variety of analytics to help you navigate how and what your audience is drawn to. Also, Uno CMS allows for Google Analytics to be integrated into your site, so you can understand how your site is performing. This will help you create content which fits your niche, thus driving traffic to your site.

Content

Take control over your content. Your site should be as vibrant as you are, and images and videos will help you show that vibrancy. Poor image and video hosting can tank your SEO because they can fumble mobile compatibility and increase loading times.

Brush up on your image formatting skills to improve load speed and compatibility. Uno CMS also provides resources for media materials, so you can create original, stimulating, and high ranking content without having to worry whether your photos and videos will decrease your rank.

Security

The last thing you want to worry about is a data breach and its consequences. Be cautious, because SEO is also vulnerable to cyber threats. Some crawling bots can be malicious and will crawl your URL to replicate it and gain user traffic you would otherwise have. Uno CMS uses enterprise level security and cloud hosting for protection and to decrease down time . They use a transparency model where you can check on system operation status to stay informed so you are able to take action if necessary.

Conclusion

A site revision will help your site become more competitive in a saturated online market. Uno CMS provides a multitude of resources to get your URL indexed and ranked higher for SEO. Use these resources to your advantage, generate compelling content, and be on the lookout for suspicious cyber threats.

New Feature for Uno CMS

hwilson@productiveit.com (Hanan Wilson) — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 07:19:08 GMT

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors. Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

Drive traffic to your site
Every time you add a new post, people who have subscribed to it will have a reason to come back to your site. If the post is a good read, they’ll share it with others, bringing even more traffic!

Blogging is free
Maintaining a blog on your site is absolutely free. You can hire bloggers if you like or assign regularly blogging tasks to everyone in your company.

A natural way to build your brand
A blog is a wonderful way to build your brand’s distinct voice. Write about issues that are related to your industry and your customers.

Here are some reasons to make blogging part of your regular routine.

Blogging is an easy way to engage with site visitors

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it. Posts don’t need to be long or complicated. Just write about what you know, and do your best to write well.

Show customers your personality
When you write a blog post, you can really let your personality shine through. This can be a great tool for showing your distinct personality.

Blogging is a terrific form of communication
Blogs are a great communication tool. They tend to be longer than social media posts, which gives you plenty of space for sharing insights, handy tips and more.

It’s a great way to support and boost SEO
Search engines like sites that regularly post fresh content, and a blog is a great way of doing this. With relevant metadata for every post so search engines can find your content.

How to Article

hwilson@productiveit.com (Hanan Wilson) — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 07:19:08 GMT

There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we see it.

Take a few moments to plan your post
Once you have a great idea for a post, write the first draft. Some people like to start with the title and then work on the paragraphs. Other people like to start with subtitles and go from there. Choose the method that works for you.

Don’t forget to add images
Be sure to include a few high-quality images in your blog. Images break up the text and make it more readable. They can also convey emotions or ideas that are hard to put into words.

Edit carefully before posting
Once you’re happy with the text, put it aside for a day or two, and then re-read it. You’ll probably find a few things you want to add, and a couple more that you want to remove. Have a friend or colleague look it over to make sure there are no mistakes. When your post is error-free, set it up in your blog and publish.

"There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we see it."

- Alan Dershowitz

New Website Launched

hwilson@productiveit.com (Hanan Wilson) — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 07:19:08 GMT

Before you go to court, make sure you know what you can (and cannot) say.

Make a list
Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly
Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself
When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively
Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.

7 P's of a Positive Marketing Strategy

Tue, 30 Jun 2015 14:35:46 GMT

Achieve maximum results in today's marketplace

Once you've developed your marketing strategy, there is a "Seven P Formula" you should use to continually evaluate and reevaluate your business activities. These seven are: product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning and people. As products, markets, customers and needs change rapidly, you must continually revisit these seven Ps to make sure you're on track and achieving the maximum results possible for you in today's marketplace.

Product

To begin with, develop the habit of looking at your product as though you were an outside marketing consultant brought in to help your company decide whether or not it's in the right business at this time. Ask critical questions such as, "Is your current product or service, or mix of products and services, appropriate and suitable for the market and the customers of today?"

Whenever you're having difficulty selling as much of your products or services as you'd like, you need to develop the habit of assessing your business honestly and asking, "Are these the right products or services for our customers today?"

Is there any product or service you're offering today that, knowing what you now know, you would not bring out again today? Compared to your competitors, is your product or service superior in some significant way to anything else available? If so, what is it? If not, could you develop an area of superiority? Should you be offering this product or service at all in the current marketplace?

Prices

The second P in the formula is price. Develop the habit of continually examining and reexamining the prices of the products and services you sell to make sure they're still appropriate to the realities of the current market. Sometimes you need to lower your prices. At other times, it may be appropriate to raise your prices. Many companies have found that the profitability of certain products or services doesn't justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them. By raising their prices, they may lose a percentage of their customers, but the remaining percentage generates a profit on every sale. Could this be appropriate for you?

Sometimes you need to change your terms and conditions of sale. Sometimes, by spreading your price over a series of months or years, you can sell far more than you are today, and the interest you can charge will more than make up for the delay in cash receipts. Sometimes you can combine products and services together with special offers and special promotions. Sometimes you can include free additional items that cost you very little to produce but make your prices appear far more attractive to your customers.

In business, as in nature, whenever you experience resistance or frustration in any part of your sales or marketing plan, be open to revisiting that area. Be open to the possibility that your current pricing structure is not ideal for the current market. Be open to the need to revise your prices, if necessary, to remain competitive, to survive and thrive in a fast-changing marketplace.

Promotion

The third habit in marketing and sales is to think in terms of promotion all the time. Promotion includes all the ways you tell your customers about your products or services and how you then market and sell to them.

Small changes in the way you promote and sell your products can lead to dramatic changes in your results. Even small changes in your advertising can lead immediately to higher sales. Experienced copywriters can often increase the response rate from advertising by 500 percent by simply changing the headline on an advertisement.

Large and small companies in every industry continually experiment with different ways of advertising, promoting, and selling their products and services. And here is the rule: Whatever method of marketing and sales you're using today will, sooner or later, stop working. Sometimes it will stop working for reasons you know, and sometimes it will be for reasons you don't know. In either case, your methods of marketing and sales will eventually stop working, and you'll have to develop new sales, marketing and advertising approaches, offerings, and strategies.

Place

The fourth P in the marketing mix is the place where your product or service is actually sold. Develop the habit of reviewing and reflecting upon the exact location where the customer meets the salesperson. Sometimes a change in place can lead to a rapid increase in sales.

You can sell your product in many different places. Some companies use direct selling, sending their salespeople out to personally meet and talk with the prospect. Some sell by telemarketing. Some sell through catalogs or mail order. Some sell at trade shows or in retail establishments. Some sell in joint ventures with other similar products or services. Some companies use manufacturers' representatives or distributors. Many companies use a combination of one or more of these methods.

In each case, the entrepreneur must make the right choice about the very best location or place for the customer to receive essential buying information on the product or service needed to make a buying decision. What is yours? In what way should you change it? Where else could you offer your products or services?

Packaging

The fifth element in the marketing mix is the packaging. Develop the habit of standing back and looking at every visual element in the packaging of your product or service through the eyes of a critical prospect. Remember, people form their first impression about you within the first 30 seconds of seeing you or some element of your company. Small improvements in the packaging or external appearance of your product or service can often lead to completely different reactions from your customers.

With regard to the packaging of your company, your product or service, you should think in terms of everything that the customer sees from the first moment of contact with your company all the way through the purchasing process.

Packaging refers to the way your product or service appears from the outside. Packaging also refers to your people and how they dress and groom. It refers to your offices, your waiting rooms, your brochures, your correspondence and every single visual element about your company. Everything counts. Everything helps or hurts. Everything affects your customer's confidence about dealing with you.

When IBM started under the guidance of Thomas J. Watson, Sr., he very early concluded that fully 99 percent of the visual contact a customer would have with his company, at least initially, would be represented by IBM salespeople. Because IBM was selling relatively sophisticated high-tech equipment, Watson knew customers would have to have a high level of confidence in the credibility of the salesperson. He therefore instituted a dress and grooming code that became an inflexible set of rules and regulations within IBM.

As a result, every salesperson was required to look like a professional in every respect. Every element of their clothing-including dark suits, dark ties, white shirts, conservative hairstyles, shined shoes, clean fingernails-and every other feature gave off the message of professionalism and competence. One of the highest compliments a person could receive was, "You look like someone from IBM."

Positioning

The next P is positioning. You should develop the habit of thinking continually about how you are positioned in the hearts and minds of your customers. How do people think and talk about you when you're not present? How do people think and talk about your company? What positioning do you have in your market, in terms of the specific words people use when they describe you and your offerings to others?

In the famous book by Al Reis and Jack Trout, Positioning, the authors point out that how you are seen and thought about by your customers is the critical determinant of your success in a competitive marketplace. Attribution theory says that most customers think of you in terms of a single attribute, either positive or negative. Sometimes it's "service." Sometimes it's "excellence." Sometimes it's "quality engineering," as with Mercedes Benz. Sometimes it's "the ultimate driving machine," as with BMW. In every case, how deeply entrenched that attribute is in the minds of your customers and prospective customers determines how readily they'll buy your product or service and how much they'll pay.

Develop the habit of thinking about how you could improve your positioning. Begin by determining the position you'd like to have. If you could create the ideal impression in the hearts and minds of your customers, what would it be? What would you have to do in every customer interaction to get your customers to think and talk about in that specific way? What changes do you need to make in the way interact with customers today in order to be seen as the very best choice for your customers of tomorrow?

People

The final P of the marketing mix is people. Develop the habit of thinking in terms of the people inside and outside of your business who are responsible for every element of your sales, marketing strategies, and activities.

It's amazing how many entrepreneurs and business people will work extremely hard to think through every element of the marketing strategy and the marketing mix, and then pay little attention to the fact that every single decision and policy has to be carried out by a specific person, in a specific way. Your ability to select, recruit, hire and retain the proper people, with the skills and abilities to do the job you need to have done, is more important than everything else put together.

In his best-selling book, Good to Great, Jim Collins discovered the most important factor applied by the best companies was that they first of all "got the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus." Once these companies had hired the right people, the second step was to "get the right people in the right seats on the bus."

To be successful in business, you must develop the habit of thinking in terms of exactly who is going to carry out each task and responsibility. In many cases, it's not possible to move forward until you can attract and put the right person into the right position. Many of the best business plans ever developed sit on shelves today because the [people who created them] could not find the key people who could execute those plans.

Excerpted from Million Dollar Habits

Gift of Life Foundation

Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:22:14 GMT

We gave a face to their mission

We have gone live with the new Gift of Life Foundation site! They have been wonderful clients to work with and we look forward to partnering with them in the future for any new projects that they need our help with.

Read what they had to say about us!

Chris Niel Music

Mon, 15 Jun 2015 14:58:22 GMT

Local artist website goes live

Chris Niel has been a great individual to work with. Chris is a local music artist that partnered with Productive I.T. to create a website that he could be proud of to showcase his music talents. Chris was recently featured at a Boston Red Sox's game where he played the National Anthem.

Thanks Chris for allowing us to create your show piece!

Renascence Rack Cards Arrival

Fri, 16 Aug 2013 15:38:20 GMT

Promoting with style

Our friends at Renascence have some fantastic Rack Cards! They just arrived, and we're extremely happy with how they turned out.

Take a look:

Look Who Came to Training!

Thu, 15 Aug 2013 15:49:38 GMT

A great day of training

Dextera had a great training today for their site! Here's a picture of the guys!

5 Tips to Make Facebook More Effective for Your Business

Fri, 09 Aug 2013 14:43:03 GMT

Facebook working for you!

Facebook is extremely powerful as a marketing tool, and it’s made exposure for your business easier than it’s ever been. It does require effort and consistency, but that’s a small price to pay for the returns that you’ll get from a solid Facebook Campaign.

There are few extremely important things that can make your time spent with Facebook more effective. They can mean the difference between a Facebook page with 10 Likes and a page with 1,500 Likes.

They’re that important.

Let’s take a look.

Tip #1: Provide Relevant Content

You shouldn’t post about anything and everything. Material posted on a Facebook page that isn’t related to the page’s topic is considered ‘noise’, and people have no desire to introduce more noise into their feed.

They want specific, extremely relevant content in their feed. If it’s offering them value, they’ll Like it, and engage with your content. If it’s not, they’ll probably unlike after a week or so.

You can offer them this value by posting about things they’d want to hear about. If you’re a coffee company, post about new flavors you have, or some new technique you’re doing with your beans. If you offer a coupon, you’ll get even better engagement with your followers.

Tip #2: Be Consistent

Consistency is the most pivotal part of Social Media. If you’re not consistent, you’re simply wasting your time. This is the ‘secret’ of what makes Pages successful.

The fact is that Facebook works just like any other aspect of your business: what you get out of it depends on how much effort you put in. If you’re spending at most a few minutes per month on managing your page, you could probably spend those minutes better elsewhere.

A good goal to aim for your business is posting at least 2 a week. Preferably 1-2 times per day, if you have the staffing available for it. This is the optimal amount to both engage your followers and avoid spamming them with your content.

Tip #3: Be Realistic

Most businesses try to come across as ‘corporate’. They only address anyone online in profe ssional manner, and don’t engage with actual conversation with anyone. The odd thing about this is that most corporations are actively seeking out ways to become more personal.

Acting like a corporation doesn’t work offline, should why should it work on Facebook? It’s all about providing a connection to your followers, and providing value to them. Don’t be a business th at you’re not. If you provide lawn care services, don’t put up pictures of flashy, sleek banner with a modern feel. That won’t be effective for your audience.

Tip #4: Use Insights

Facebook Insights is the most powerful thing you can do on Facebook. It gives you so much actionable information that it can be overwhelming at first, but it’s worth it to completely understand what Insights is telling you when it comes to your users.

One of the most critical parts of Insights is checking your Demographics. You should be checking this monthly to ensure that your audience isn’t changing or decreasing, and that you’re targeting the most effective audience.

Another great benefit is tracking your likes to see what is most effective. If you’re posting tons of text statuses, but a picture you posted a month ago is still your most popular item, you should probably consider posting more images and monitoring the engagement. This can all be done through Insights!

Tip #5: Post the Right Items at The Right Time

If you’ve looked at Insights for any length of time, you’ve probably discovered what I’m about to cover.

When you start a page, you need to know what’s most effective for your audience. If most of your followers are in the 18-34 age bracket, they’re probably viewing your page on a mobile device. That means images should be small and easy to understand at small sizes, yet still able to look good on a high-resolution monitor they’ll likely have at home.

Not an easy task, I know. But this is one of the challenges of Digital Media: knowing your audience, and how they’ll view your content.

Another part to this problem is posting at the right time. If most of your followers are in the 45-60 age bracket, then posting your content at 1:00 AM right before you head to bed probably isn’t going to produce much engagement—it’s already far down their feed by the time they wake up. However, posting at 8:00-8:15 AM is probably the optimal time, as that age bracket tends to wake up earlier, and report to a steady job at 8:00 AM.

Again, it’s all about posting the right things at the right time.

Learning More

Facebook can seem like a massively complicated beast that’s simply too much to understand for most people. But if you’re willing to simply get a grasp of the basic concepts behind Facebook pages, it can make your business far more successful than simple word-of-mouth advertising.

If you’re interested in learning more about Facebook pages and how they work, or you’d like to hire professionals for your business Social Media, you can give us a call anytime during business hours at 334-356-3561. We’re experienced in managing media online, and we can provide consulting to help you get the most out of Facebook, and we're available right here in Montgomery!

Macon East Academy

Thu, 08 Aug 2013 14:56:43 GMT

Macon East is now LIVE!

We truly enjoyed working with the MEA team. Take a look at their site.

Leadership Montgomery

Sat, 03 Aug 2013 15:49:49 GMT

Leadership Montgomery is Live!

Leadership Montgomery is now live. Take a look at LeadershipMontgomery.org!

New Age Home Builders Launch

Wed, 31 Jul 2013 16:02:07 GMT

New Age Home Builders' site is launching today.

Check it out!

Wilson Shaw IT is Now Live

Mon, 29 Jul 2013 16:11:22 GMT

What a great site!

We Launched Wilson Shaw's new website this past week, and I've gotta say I lie the way it turned out! See for yourself at WilsonShsawIT.com

Content Strategy Explained

Fri, 26 Jul 2013 16:17:59 GMT

Get the most benefit out of your site

Content Strategy sounds like something that’s reserved for the Fortune 500 companies. It scares many people because they’re not sure what it is or whether they can actually do it. However, the good news is that it’s an easy thing to do, and it can make a great opportunity for a small business to define what they’re trying to do with the digital medium. It also gives direction to what’s usually a chaotic attempt at Online Marketing. Even right here in Montgomery, Alabama, your business can still use Content Strategy to gain more clients and produce more revenue.

Content Strategy includes a few different areas, like design, development, marketing, SEO, and others. You probably aren’t an expert on all of these, so it’s better to get the right people in the room before you start writing this.

Why am I creating ‘Content’, anyway?

The stuff you’ll create is called ‘Content’, and it includes everything from writing articles to filming videos for YouTube. It’s all content, and it’s all valuable to your business in tons of ways. Your business probably won’t be able to create every type of content, so you’ll get better results concentrating on one or two types. If your website design allows you to have a blog, I would recommend you use it for this purpose.

A simple example would be a local coffee business. They don’t have a large budget, so YouTube videos and a Podcast about Coffee wouldn’t be feasible—but they could write about the newest flavors they produce and make a few videos about their process, which would provide results faster than just text. The video and articles would get traffic from Social Media, which means more customers.

How often are you creating your content?

If you’re filming video, chances are it’s a one-time deal. Most businesses can’t afford to produce monthly videos about their business—but that’s okay, since it isn’t worth it for most people.

I’d suggest you choose to write a few articles per month or per week. It takes effort to follow through with this, and consistency is key to writing. Only set a schedule that you’re willing to stick with in the long-term. One article every two weeks, or even one article per month is okay, as long as you’re consistently posting it on time. Make sure your website design is designed so that it features your content prominently!

I’m already too busy! Why should I add this?

It’s easy to talk about this stuff, but once it comes to taking responsibility, most people take the easy way-out: ‘That sounds great, but I’m too busy, already!’.

The truth is that you should make time for it. You’re leaving money on the table if you attempt anything online without truly setting goals and responsibilities. You’re risking confusion and loss of income that could be coming from new customers. In the long-term, it’s worth it to make some time to sit down and work this stuff out. You’ll be glad you did in six months’ time.

Who is responsible for this stuff?

It’s important to clearly define who is responsible for creating your content, and what they should be creating.

If your secretary is responsible for updating the blog—well, what should she be writing about? Her vacation? She needs relevant topics to your business, and guidelines on what is and isn’t okay for her to write about. This prevents confusion and hurt feelings down the road.

Tell the person responsible how often they should be creating your content, and where they should post it. Give them access to Social Media for your business so they can promote the articles.

Next Week: Define Your Goals

Next week we'll continue this series by talking about Defining Your Goals, and how you can get the most benefit out of your site without having to spend hours working on it.

Stop by and talk with us about how your business can benefit from Content Strategy! We're available anytime during business hours at 334-356-3561, or come by if you're in Montgomery, Alabama!

SiteTips

Fri, 05 Jul 2013 16:27:06 GMT

A New Website Series from ProductiveIT

What is SiteTips?

SiteTips is a series that we'll be creating weekly that concentrates on some of the common features that clients can use to make their business better. It'll usually be a short video (<3 minutes), but will occasionally include an article.

The Inaugural Video: Editing a Page

We've gotten numerous calls about this feature, and it's one of the most common things that you'll be doing in Online Business Suite. So, we want to show you the easiest ways to do this. The video walks you through each step, and explains what it is.

Site Tips: Edit a Page in OBS from Taylor Daughtry with ProductiveIT on Vimeo.

The plan right now is to publish these occasionally on some of the most common questions and features that we work with for most clients. Got a suggestion that we should cover? Email us and we might cover it for you!

LEL International's Website is Live!

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 15:36:23 GMT

We're excited to release yet another client's website into the Wide open Web! Check it out at LELinternational.com !

5 Tips to Make Twitter More Effective for Your Business

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 16:57:55 GMT

Branding one tweet at a time!

Twitter is one of the largest social media networks today, and it’s quite possible that many of the people you know at least have an account on Twitter. If you’re like most small businesses, then you might have an account just for your business. Maybe you even post a few times per month.

However, simply having an account isn’t enough to build your business, there are a few things you’ll need to do in order to get the most out of your effort, and make Twitter start working for you, and build your business’s brand:

Make your Twitter name easy to say and remember.

This matters. When you’re talking with someone, make sure your Twitter Handle (your account’s name) is easy to say and understand, as well as remember. SuperCompanyDesign is much easier than SuprDesgnCompanyLLC1. Avoid numbers, abbreviations, or other excessive variations (EX: 5Up3RD351GN instead of SUPERDESIGN) unless they’re an integral part of your business name.

If your company’s name isn’t available, get in touch with the account holder and see if they’re interested in selling the name. (NOTE: this is technically against Twitter’s Terms of Service, so it should used as a last resort. Your mileage may vary!)

If your name isn’t available, try variations. For example, SuperDesign probably isn’t available, but perhaps SuperCompanyDesign is. ExtremeSports isn’t available, but maybe ExtremeAlabama, or ExtremeSportsAlabama is.

Be sure to keep it as short as possible. You want your handle to be short enough to tell someone as they’re hanging up the phone, or as they’re walking away, and still be understood.

Like this:

“...Okay, we’ll confirm that meeting tomorrow, but If you need to speak to us quickly, just send us a Tweet at SuperDesign. Have a nice day!”

instead of:

“... Okay, we’ll continue talking about it tomorrow, but if you need to talk with someone again before then, just send us a tweet at ‘S’ 1 (the number 1), ‘U’, ‘P’, 3 (the number 3),...”

It flows much easier in conversation—which is a good thing!

Tweet Often, and Consistently.

If you’re not willing to tweet at least once per week, then it’s not worth the effort to create an account. People generally aren’t willing to follow an account that only posts a few times per month, unless you have some really engaging content. You better be giving away stuff like it’s 1999.

You should at least be posting once per week, but once or twice a day is average, and usually returns good results. The best time to post your best tweets (giveaways, sales, or other things that you think will generate mentions) is usually around 1:00 - 3:00 PM for your target audience. If you’re looking to gain followers that work in the Night guard industry, you might consider varying your post times. Otherwise, it’s best to stick to sometime in the early afternoon.

Talk about Relevant and Interesting Content in Your Industry.

Don’t talk about your cat unless you’re in the pet business. Don’t talk about your car unless that’s relevant to your business. (You’re a mechanic, car salesman, or the like.) This keeps your tweets targeted to a specific audience, and your account will be more likely to gain followers faster. Nobody wants to follow a business account that just talks about personal stuff. Generally, there’s no value there, it’s simply polluting their feed.

However, that isn’t to say that people don’t like any sort of interaction in the human form at all. People tend to favor accounts that have a human quality to them, so occasionally commenting on relevant events in your areas is acceptable and encouraged!

Interaction on Twitter is the Key to Success.

While simply consistently tweeting is a great start to building your brand, It’s when you start interacting with other people that it really becomes a valuable way to spend your time. When someone mentions your brand, make sure you respond to answer their question(s) if they have any, or add something to the conversation they’re having with someone else. The more you talk with others, the more your followers will be engaged with your brand.

Be careful about Who you Allow to Tweet for Your Business.

There are numerous articles written about the disasters that have befallen businesses that don’t follow this suggestion. All it takes is for one person managing your Twitter feed, and suddenly everyone knows about the inner workings of the business, and what’s happening internally. Make sure to place someone responsible and qualified in charge of Social Media, or it could mean disaster later on!

If you’ll follow these few tips on making Twitter more effective for your business, you’re much more likely to see results quicker than simply having an account. Just be consistent, and make sure to respond to people that ask you questions, and you’ll have a fantastic experience!

Why Responsive Design Matters

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 16:14:10 GMT

Responsive Web Design — If you’re not familiar with the term, that’s okay. Many people that aren’t intimately aware of websites haven’t yet heard of it.

Basically, Responsive Web Design is a technique to building websites that gives the client a much more efficient, effective, and robust website, while reducing the time it takes to build a website, depending on the particular needs of the project.

Understanding Responsive Web Design involves realizing just how many devices are currently being used to view your website. If your website isn’t responsive, and someone on a mobile phone goes to your website, they may see a jumbled mess of text and images, instead of your clean, effective site. This is because mobile devices (as well as iPads) use a different process to show you the website, and this difference causes tons of poorly built websites to become nearly unusable. So it’s vitally important that you update your website to be responsive, if your budget permits. Otherwise, you’re losing customers that would otherwise be purchasing products, or calling for your services.

If your website isn’t already using Responsive Design, let us help you get your website up-to-date and starting making your website more effective for your business!

How to Use Google Analytics

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:47:38 GMT

Make Google Analytics work for your business!

Google Analytics is without a doubt one of the most useful tools available to any business. It allows an at-a-glance view of every one of your customers: What pages they’re viewing, how long they’re staying on your site, and even whether they’ve purchased an item. These statistics can be extremely useful for making your site as effective as possible, but if you don't know how to use Google Analytics, then all this information can't help you. So, today we’ll cover a few ways you can use this information to make your website more effective.

When you're using Google Analytics, there are three places you’ll want to check daily, weekly, or (at the very least) monthly: Your Dashboard, Traffic Sources, and Content. We’ll cover an introduction of each of these.

First, let’s take a look at the dashboard.

The Dashboard is the first place you’ll see when you enter Analytics. This is where you’ll find the basic information about your site: How many visitors you’ve had, where those visitors are from, and what Browser they’re using. This is a simplified version of your data; this is all broken down specifically at other locations in Google Analytics.

Unique Visitors are the actual number of people that have visited your website. It’s important to know that the number of visits you have may be much more than the actual number of people viewing your site, because Analytics counts visits separate from Unique Visitors.

If you look at your sidebar, you’ll see an item called ‘Traffic Sources’. Click it, and it’ll open a dropdown menu below. Click Overview.

Traffic Sources is where you’ll find information about where your visitors are coming from. There’s a big graph at the top, which is showing how many people have visited your site.

Below that, there’s a pie graph, along with some other information below it. This data is all about how your visitors came to your site, whether that’s through Google (shown under Search Traffic), another website (shown under Referral Traffic), or directly to your site (shown under Direct Traffic).

Search traffic shows what people are entering into Google to find your website. To the right of Search Traffic, you’ll find a list of keywords, which are the exact terms they typed into Google.

This is useful, because you can actually see what people are thinking when they’re trying to find your business.

As an example, one of our clients, Andella Home, sells a variety of Furniture products. Their product line is diverse, covering a range of products that includes furniture, lighting, rugs, and other accessories for the home (they’re quite nice; you can see some of their products here.)

Since their products vary so much, they can look at their Search Traffic and see what people are actually looking for when they find Andella Home.

They check it, and see that people have searched 58 times for “Andella Home chairs”, 29 times for “Andella Home sofas”, and 64 times for “Andella Home armchairs”. Since they’re getting so much traffic that’s interested in chairs, they should consider offering more chairs.

This can be repeated weekly or monthly to optimize your site for as many sales as possible.

Next, we’ll take a look at the ‘Content’ area. You can find it in your sidebar right under ‘Traffic Sources’. Make sure to click ‘Overview’.

This is where you’ll find a list of the most active pages on your site. If you put a link to one of your pages on Facebook, you can come here and find out how many people are actually viewing your page.

There are four sections : ‘Site Content’, ‘Site Search’, ‘Events’, and ‘Page’. You’ll only need to know about Site Content.

Site Content This gives you two choices: Page or Page Title. Page will show you a list of links to the most visited pages on your site. Page Title will show a list of the Titles of those pages. You can find which pages your visitors like the most by looking at the top few pages on the list. The higher up on the list, the more people have seen the page.

To continue using our Andella Home example, they could also see that their most visited page is a list of chairs, and a few product pages about chairs. They could see which products are most popular, and which ones can be discontinued. This allows them to efficiently determine what they need to sell, and what they should discontinue.

Google Analytics can be a business owner’s best friend. It allows so much useful data to work with that it can seem confusing at first! However, if you simply stick with it, and figure out how to use Google Analytics, it can provide a great return on your investment.

If you’re not sure about Analytics, or how to set it up, we can help! Call us to set up a meeting where we can show you how to get started making Google Analytics work for your business!

New Productive CMS: Image Editing

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:43:00 GMT

We have recently released a new feature in Productive CMS that allows for easier uploading of images for your website. You no longer have to edit the images before bringing them into the website, but can simply drag and drop the image into the Text and Image editor. You can manipulate the image quickly by using the built in standard sizing options, or by using your own custom image size. You can even crop your images within the editor. Learn more about this new feature by clicking here.

Domain Name verses Hosting of Website

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:35:59 GMT

One of the frequent questions we get by new clients is the difference between a domain name and the actual hosting of the website. Most people would think that these two items are one in the same, when actually they are two separate items of your website.

The domain name is just the “name” of the website you are using (productiveit.com), and you can have several “names” going to the same site (productiveit.com, productiveitllc.com, productiveit.net).

Your website hosting is the actual server location that your site files, tools and database are located.

For instance, your home might be called a home, house and estate—all different “names” for one building—but your house is always one building in one location. You can move your home’s contents from one building to another, and it will still be called your home, house and estate, but be at a different location. The same applies for moving your website content to a new host.

Productive I.T. can host your website home and decorate it how you like. We can move your content for you and give your web presence a new home with us. Call us today and we can walk you through how the process works!

Productive CMS Improved Link Interface

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:48:33 GMT

We recently improved the Productive CMS link interface in all areas of the platform including the most popular “text and image” areas. You will notice that the pages are now grouped together and indented if they are in folders. You will also see that an anchor icon appears to the right of a page that has anchors on them. Here are a few tips about using the new link interface when choosing either internal or external links:

To add an internal link, simply highlight either the words or image you would like to be linked. Then click the “Link” area box at the top of the “Text and Image Properties” box. Once you click in the link box, a drop down list of all pages within your website will appear. Simply choose the page with your cursor and then click the green arrow to “set” the link.

If you would like to choose an external link option instead, click in the “Link” area box (do not move your cursor to the internal pages or you will need to start over). You will see your cursor blinking in the box. Once your cursor is blinking in the box, simply type in the URL of the external link (example: www.weather.com). Then click on the green arrow to “set” the link.

Here are some examples for different link types you might see in the Link box:

Fresh Site Pick: Alabama Recovery Coalition for the Financial Sector

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:09:18 GMT

Alabama Recovery Coalition for the Financial Sector (ACFS)

www.arcfs.org

Founded in 2006, ARCFS is Alabama's leading non-profit organization whose sole purpose is the maintaining and monitoring the stability the state's financial community - which includes over 120 participating banks. Their website provides access to information, news alerts and communication planning to all its members in the event of a natural disaster.

Keeping it Simple

ARCFS Old SiteARCFS required not only a visual overhaul, but more intuitive functionality as well that would allow its members protected access to its database of information and community. It's old site (see right) was way too crowded and not very intuitive. By simplifying the content, we were able to create a streamlined landing page that emphasizes the site's key call to actions and improve user experience.

Get Your Jingle Jangle on with our Christmas Desktop Wallpaper

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:44:49 GMT

It's December 1st , the icy frost of Winter is here, and it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here at the office. In fact, we even got our very first Christmas tree this year (you can check her out on the right). Our staff has already been cranking out the holiday tunes all week long - I prefer Santa Claus is Coming to Town by the California Raisins myself - but now that it's "official" we thought we'd share some Christmas joy with our blog readers in the form of this "beautifully illustrated" Happy Holidays Desktop Wallpaper!

Tis the Season for New Media Holiday Marketing

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:52:59 GMT

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that we are on the cusp of a huge wave of holiday marketing . Companies typically plan months in advance for this time of year when customers are willing to spend a little more in the “spirit of the season.” However, with social media becoming an increasingly more prominent part of that mix some business are turning to more innovative ways of grabbing your attention than a simple commercial or magazine ad.

Retail businesses especially are methodically introducing new QR code campaigns, social media widgets and augmented reality apps by the buckets this year. We thought we’d share a few examples of those doing it well that might serve to offer some inspiration for your own season marketing campaign.

That’s not to say businesses can’t still use traditional media to be creative – most of the samples here are done in coordination with print and TV campaigns. In fact, the 2011 Toy ‘R’ Us Christmas campaign is focused primarily on the “vintage appeal” of their 1980s commercials as well as Sunday newspaper inserts. The important thing to remember is that, regardless of the tools used, marketing your business is about creating unique, branded experiences for your customers.

Google Gets Fresh, Changes Search Algorithm

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:36:47 GMT

Find out how fresh factors matter!

Keeping your website updated with “fresh” new content just got a whole lot more important now that Google has implemented their “Freshness” update. The change, which Google claims will affect 35% of Web searches , took place last week and marks a doubled effort on the search giant’s part to provide users with more relevant, up-to-date results. This means that sites with more recently updated content will be ranked higher than those sites that rarely do anything.

While this mainly affects websites that are tailored to frequent updates – like news sites or blogs – it can also have repercussions on your site’s ranking as indicated by Searchmetrics weekend analysis of the Web’s more popular online destinations. The point being that if you aren’t already using your website to create new content on a weekly – preferably daily basis – you’ve got some work to do!

What are content freshness factors?

While Google hasn’t come forward to specifically identify what defines “freshness” - though they have left a few clues - it’s not hard to pinpoint a few basic credentials that can help you reevaluate your content strategy from here on out.

Content is fresh depending on its inception date*
Content is fresh if it is time-sensitive (news, press releases, product reviews)
Content is fresh if it is unique to a particular site
Content is fresh if it is actively shared across multiple social networks
Content is fresh if it is relevant to a specific niche
Content is fresh if it utilizes keywords appropriately

* This could vary depending on the actual date the content was published or the date it first appeared in search results.

Social Media in Action – Foosackly’s Facebook Success Story

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:11:56 GMT

Often times it’s easy to extol the virtues of social media, after all it’s sort of become a requirement for any business looking to find success online. However, it’s understandably difficult for small businesses just starting out to really grasp just how they can see results. A few common misconceptions are that simply having a profile on a social network is enough or that fans should be flocking to you in droves by your third or fourth update. After all, that’s how it works for the McDonalds and Nikes of the world right?

Surprisingly enough its small businesses that reap more benefit from tapping into social network like Facebook or Twitter than those larger franchises ever will. Those that start adopting it as a part of their marketing early on have the opportunity to create authentic connections with their followers – one on one – and establish brand advocates that are 100% active as opposed to accumulating 500,000 “unactive” followers.

Fusaiotti’s strategy was so successful... It not only helped identify potential markets where the demand was strong, but also strengthened his online community who have now become active investors in the project.

I read a news article earlier this week that demonstrated a prime example of a small business utilizing its social network to great effect (and profit). The company in mention, Foosackly , is a local business located in Mobile, AL that has grown from a single location to seven in the past 11 years. For his most recent restaurants (which should launch by Thanksgiving) Foosackly founder Will Fusaiotti took a unique approach to choosing the location – he asked his Facebook fans.

Fusaiotti’s strategy was so successful (more than 3,000 people voted) that he ended up opening two locations instead of one! It not only helped identify potential markets where the demand was strong, but also strengthened his online community who have now become active investors in the project. And Foosackly isn’t alone; plenty of small businesses have seen big returns on social networks by investing their time and personality to the brand. Naked Pizza , which we covered here previously, is a prime case study for finding the same success on Twitter.

How do you currently utilize your social networks? Do you make it a priority to reward and connect with your followers on a daily basis?

Tech Tip: Keeping your Server Room Clean

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:22:41 GMT

Everything tends to work better when it's properly maintained. After all, there's a reason why we say that something works like a "well-oiled machine" when it's being productive.

For any business, nowhere is this more important than your data center or server room. Luckily, we've rounded up a few key principles that you can follow to keep your company's data safe and sound all year round.

Make sure to clean properly

Computers and other technology equipment tend to attract dust and other particles like a magnet so staying proactive about regularly cleaning can be a simple way to prevent major system damage. Never use anything moist to clean your equipment. Always use either a dry cloth or compressed air to remove any unwanted dirt or dust.

Keep things organized

Part of keeping your data center environment clean requires you to keep everything as organized as possible. Not only will keeping everything labeled and in its place make the best use of your space, your authorized IT tech will thank you for it.

Regulate temperature

Any room with a lot of computer equipment should be kept in an air conditioned environment and out of direct sunlight to prevent overheating. Ideally you want to maintain a steady temperature of anywhere between 70 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here's a sample of a client site we just recently helped set up. You can see the differences between the Before and After images are pretty amazing.

Need help re-organizing your server room or re-evaluating your network's security? Give us a call! We'd be happy to meet you on site for an evaluation anytime.

5 Steps to a Good Start in Social Media

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:14:11 GMT

1) Describe your business in 140 characters or less

It may sound silly, but Twitter's 140 character limit is essentially the equivalent of the social media elevator pitch. Being able to narrow down this core description will not only help you strip out all of the unnecessary technical jargon you business might have grown accustomed to, but it will make you focus on the most important element: how you can make things easier for your customers.

2) Choose the right tool(s)

There are seemingly countless options when it comes to social media networks to join. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn currently reign supreme, but others like Tumblr, Google+, Orkut and MySpace are still very relevant. The most important factor to understand when selecting your network(s) is to start where your customers are at. As our fearless PIT boss likes to say: “Fish where the fish are.”

3) Create an Editorial Calendar and stick to it

Establishing an editorial calendar has become a particularly useful tool for online marketers. Outlining in advance when a blog post will go out and how you can filter that content into your social media profiles is an effective strategy - especially when you know what time of day your target demographic is most active.

4) Track. Monitor. Report

Speaking of knowing your target audience, a good marketing campaign is meaningless if you're not keeping track of how well it's actually working. How often is your content being shared? Are customers truly being engaged by the type of content you provide? Do they ask questions or leave comments? Are you considered a thought leader in your industry? If the answer to even one of these questions is "I don't know" you need to seriously re-consider your strategy.

5) Engage your audience, don't sell to them.

This is perhaps the most difficult step on the list to master, especially for those who are new to social media. However, understanding the difference between a sales pitch and open communication can either make or break a business. Remember that social media is about being social, which makes it just as much about your customers as it does your product and/or service. Don't become an interruption, join the conversation.

Of course, these are only 5 of many things to consider when starting an online marketing strategy, specifically for social media. If you've already excelled beyond these and would like to discuss other opportunities you might be missing out on, drop us a line. We'd be happy to help.

Shaking Up the Social Landscape

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:45:02 GMT

Facebook's New Timeline

Although social sharing platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare have gradually continued to evolve over the past year or so, it wasn’t until a few months ago that two of the biggest competitors (Google+ and Facebook) began creating some pretty gnarly waves in the social atmosphere.

Naturally, Google’s announcement that it would be re-entering the arena after several failed attempts (Buzz and Wave) was not very surprising, there’s little Google isn’t experimenting with at the moment and using Google+ as a springboard towards social search is a no-brainer for the company. What is surprising, however, are the changes coming from Facebook in the past few months. Either in response to Google’s looming presence or something that was pre-destined (perhaps both), Facebook has made its own wave of minor changes (Smart Lists, Subscribe button, Ticker Feed) with something pretty massive on the horizon.

That “something” is called Timeline and it is Facebook’s upcoming makeover (inspired by infographic guru Nicholas Felton) which has become quite the buzz-worthy topic of conversation among industry blogs and left many split in their opinion of it. On the positive side people are calling it “a richer, more immersive social experience than ever,” while others fear that the “massive makeover might just be a bit too much.” After experiencing Timeline firsthand I have to admit that it takes more than a little adjustment to get used to the dual column layout.

Beyond the aesthetics of the new look, Timeline puts a greater focus on user’s personal history (with an emphasis on the story part). Instead of just being able to “Like” things, Timeline will use third party apps such as Spotify, Netflix and others to track your taste in movies, music and perhaps even gaming habits. News Feeds, which are currently at the core of Facebook, will be transitioned over to the Twitter-esque Ticker feed located on the right sidebar where the Chat feature resides.

Content vs Design: Is One Really More Important than the Other?

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:36:38 GMT

People often argue about which is more important (content or design) when it comes to web development, they have for years now. The truth is, no website is complete without either component and while many clients focus on how they want their site to look first and foremost, very few take into consideration just how important content is when it comes to actually getting visitors to the site.

More often than not a typical project here at Productive I.T. will begin in the design phase , ensuring the visual elements created work together to establish unity and convey the overall “brand” of the client’s company. As a designer, there is naturally nothing I love more than being able to lay all of the elements on the table and figure out how they fit together. Designers are very much like mathematicians in this respect, we both like to solve problems, only difference is that our (designers) puzzles are more visual.

Once the design is approved the task of compiling content, selecting images and (in most instances) learning the ins and outs of the CMS take place. It’s at this phase that clients can require the most help, whether they’re at a loss to accurately describe their business or simply don’t have the time to commit anything to paper (or email). While our team can certainly help steer their site towards the right audience with our copywriting services, it’s essential that clients work with us to create content that will be considered compelling to potential visitors. For the record, it is NEVER okay to copy content from another website for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is copyright infringement.

“Design in the absence of content is not design, its decoration.”

-- Jeffrey Zeldman

As much as I enjoy web design, this quote, by designer/writer Jeffrey Zeldman, makes a brilliant point that while design is required to create an engaging user experience it is the value of that experience itself which keeps people coming back. In other words, if you focus too much attention to the design and not the content you’re not giving your audience any reason to return. Making sure that your content is as well thought out as your site’s design will go a long way to maintain traffic to your site and help to guarantee that visitors have a good reason to visit again and again.

Is it time to rethink the content strategy of your website? Feel free to drop us a line and let our staff know how we can help.

Facebook Unveils New Privacy Features. How Will it Affect Your Business?

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:04:33 GMT

Businesses vs. User Base

Early last week the developers at Facebook began releasing several new sharing options for users based on privacy controls similar in concept to Google Plus’ Circles concept. Whether or not the change was already planned (Facebook product manager Kate O’Neil told VentureBeat it had been in development for 6 months) or done in reaction to the competition will likely be speculated on by both sides for some time, but the important takeaway is that Facebook is evolving (and quickly).

Among the new features, Facebook now allows users greater control over “tagging” in both posts and photos including options to approve, deny, remove and altogether block a tag. In addition users can now take advantage of the platform’s “inline audience selector” to share updates with a specific selection of friends or custom groups (circles?) instead of everything being public. Likewise, Pages can choose to share updates with only certain groups – currently limited to Location and Language.

So what does this mean for businesses seeking better social media engagement through Facebook?

It won’t make it any easier, that’s for sure. While marketers can still offer valuable content for users to share, those same users may now choose to share it with only 20 friends instead of 200. Granted, these 20 friends may be more engaged than the others, but the features could severely restrict a business’ reach (not to mention making it harder to track). With Google+ now emerging as a viable competitor, Facebook seems less concerned with businesses (at least momentarily) and more concentrated on not losing their user base. After all, no users is bad for business.

QR CODES: What are They and How Do They Work?

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:07:49 GMT

New Title

You may have noticed a tiny, weird looking square popping up more and more on the things you buy, in the restaurants where you eat and especially in the magazines that you read. These squares, known as QR (quick response) codes, are increasingly becoming a larger part of print marketing in the past few years as smartphones (such as an iPhone or Android) have become more popular.

The codes, which require a smartphone to work, are designed to transmit information such as a text-based message, a link, or multimedia content such as images (logo) and video (sponsored message). Most often, however, QR codes are used to promote community-wide contests or special vendor discounts. There are even services that can track and provide analytics for these codes so that you can manage your marketing even better.

Another way in which QR codes are effective is for social networking on-the-go such as sending out a tweet to your followers or “liking” a place or thing on Facebook, just by scanning the code. Google Places even offers a way in which to link a QR code to your business’ Place Page where visitors can read reviews or find special offers—all from their mobile phone.

The verdict among marketers regarding the effectiveness of these codes is still up for debate, but the trend among magazine publishers and retailers is growing. According to this QR Code Infographic by Lab42, there’s still potential for those who know how to use them to the advantage of their audience to make ads more “interactive, faster and easier.”

Have you ever scanned a QR code? Are you considering using QR codes as part of your marketing strategy? Let us know and leave a comment below.

Blogging: Twitter on Steroids

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:27:18 GMT

Whether you’re searching for an easy 30-minute meal for your family or tips on the latest and greatest social network released by Google, someone somewhere has blogged about it. In fact, there are hundreds of blogs out there just waiting to be discovered. The truth is…I love it! Some might even say I’m a little obsessed. But what about a blog, not only draws you in, but keeps you coming back?

First, let’s get real. We are constantly searching for ways to save time and money in just about every aspect of our daily lives. There are several blogs that I search on a daily basis for simple recipes that even I can master. I love stopping by Oh Joy! to see what new sweet and salty treats Joy has discovered throughout the week. As an added bonus, she is also obsessed with design and fashion, just like yours truly. Next, Orangette is a great place to discover step by step healthy recipes. Both of these sites have such a simple design, but the information and delicious pictures have these two at the top of my list.

"...these are the things that make a blog so effective: informative, relevant, time-saving, easy to navigate and brand specific."

Second, let’s get creative. DIY projects and weddings are my all-time favorite type of blogs. If you’re looking for wedding décor and inspiration, 100LayerCake is the ultimate blog. Real wedding photos are posted every week, as well as comments from the bride herself with helpful do’s and dont's for any type of wedding. From vintage to glitz and glam, 100LayerCake has great tips for traditional and modern brides all over. Design*Sponge is a great blog with thousands of design and home décor ideas, many which you can create yourself! The idea of having blogs that inspire and encourage using your own creativity and talents is pure genius and extremely rewarding.

Finally, let’s get fancy. When I’m searching for the newest styles in fashion, I always start with the wacky but gorgeous blog, A Beautiful Mess . I could search through these crazy, handmade outfits all day. Day Dream Lily is an incredible vintage blog that uses creative photography and simple locations to outline style throughout many different cultures. I adore the layouts as well as the design team that creates both of these blogs. Taking simple, ordinary objects and materials to create such a beautiful style is so refreshing.

So what exactly do these blogs have in common? First of all of they each share an easy to follow basic design that successfully conveys their brand while focusing on content that is regularly being updated. The frequency of updates can vary from blog to blog, but typically at least once or twice a week is normal (some even make updates daily). The content of each blog is always full of great information and inspiration with pictures that grab your attention often before even reading the title of the article. And really these are the things that make a blog so effective: informative, relevant, time-saving, easy to navigate and brand specific.

Of course, these are the blogs that stand out the most to a real, creative, fancy girl like me. What blogs keep you coming back?

How Google+ Plans to change the Game

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:14:25 GMT

Google+ has (ironically) become a buzz word as of late, it's certainly captured my attention, with critics and advocates alike letting their voices be heard. Some, like Roger McNamee believe that social itself is reaching its plateau while others like LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner feel that there's simply no more room for another social network. Despite this, many people are still excited at what Google is doing with their Google+ platform and are eager to take full advantage of its features.

In particular, many business having been sitting idly by for a chance to be among the first to try out these features (currently only personal accounts are permitted). However, businesses may not need to wait much longer, as a Google spokesperson announced that there are plans for business profiles which will

"...see a level of analytics and measurement that you’d typically find in Google products as well as a nuanced approach to how things are shared."

What makes Google+ different from other social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and (to a degree) LinkedIn is that virtually 100% of how content is shared is dependent on the individual user. “I could go post stuff about Google all the time, but that won’t necessarily appeal to the Circles I’m sharing them with,” said the spokesperson. “It’s up to individuals to decide what they share, and it’s up to users to decide whether they want those people in their Circles.”

This new dynamic between advertiser and consumer ultimately means that businesses will need to be more careful in identifying what drives their customers to use social networking tools and how they will become a part of a very real conversation. One of the best points made in Google Product Manger Paul Adams' pitch for Google+ is that until this point most companies have been driven primarily by how many followers (or friends) they have. However... what good is 170,000 "friends" to your brand if none of them are actively sharing conversations about you?

Is Facebook Falling Behind?

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:20:05 GMT

That's the first question that came to mind shortly after my Beta test of Google's new Google+ (Google Plus) social network. Of course, Facebook still reigns as king of the hill when it comes to membership — it currently boasts over 750 million "active users" — but that may not be the case much longer if the social giant falls behind in adapting new technologies.

Case in point, Mark Zuckerberg's announcement earlier this month of Facebook's new video chat feature in partnership with Skype . This new feature - which also marks a redesigned chat interface and group chats - comes in the shadow of Google +'s Hangout feature.

While both features offer video chat, what's interesting is that only Hangout seems to allow its members to have a group video chat (10 people at a time) whereas Facebook is limited to one-on-one conversations. Facebook's "video calling" is also not currently available to the general public while Hangouts is available to everyone (who hasn't become a member... except maybe William Shatner ?)

This is not to say that Facebook is dead, far from it, but it does mark a warning sign that could very well put Google+ in the lead going forward should it prove to be a popular enough in the social networking stratosphere. According to Ancestry.com founder Paul Allen, approximately 10 million users had already signed up for Google+ this time last week.

What do you think? Is this the beginning of the end for Facebook or is Google+ just another "wave' in the search engine giant's quest for social order?

New Feature! Productive Sites now offers Facebook Tabs

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:56:23 GMT

With over 750 million users — and counting — Facebook has become on of the most accessible social networks for small to medium-sized businesses seeking to engage their audiences online. This makes having a professional and well-designed Facebook page for your business more important than ever to attract both new and existing customers.

In an effort to address this new trend, we are extremely excited to announce the release our new Facebook tab application, which makes creating your own custom Facebook Page tab easier than ever! Using the new page layout option ( see below ), you now have access to the same ease of editing on your custom Facebook Page tab as you do on your Producive Sites website.

By adding a custom tab to your Facebook Page, you can add any content, including image galleries and powerful applications like the Appointment Scheduler via your website. Keep the design of your Facebook Page tab consistent with your web site design or use a Facebook-like color theme.

With all of the features of Productive Sites at your disposal you can choose to create endless possibilities for your Facebook Page!

The new Facebook layout is currently available for select designs.* To get access to this feature, all you have to do is to re-apply your current design by going to Control Panel > Change Design and clicking Apply. Then. the next time you create a new page or open the Page Options , you will see the Facebook layout option.

For more information and guidance on how this new feature works, please visit out Support Tutorials page or call us at 334-356-3561.

YouTube Goes Cosmic with New Interface Design

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:17:46 GMT

Announced just last week on their official blog, the purveyors of video hosting at YouTube have opened their latest TestTube project (dubbed Cosmic Panda ) to the public. Basically a redesign, Cosmic Panda features a radically overhauled interface that indicates a shift towards premium ad placement, but otherwise seems mostly aesthetic.

It's difficult to say without testing the functionality first hand if this redesign is more than skin deep. However, from a visual standpoint, the new design takes more than a few cues from its competitor (*cough*Hulu*cough*) and while YouTube is still clearly an open forum for all creators I get the feeling that many of these changes were made more with film studios and TV networks in mind (MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment, and CBS).

The new charcoal-grey background for videos makes them easier on the eyes and does mark improvement. There are also new video size options that add to the "cinematic" experience, but for the average video not optimized at those dimensions it leaves them pixelated and/or distorted.

The placement of certain elements seem a little odd, several users have noted the "Flag as inappropriate" button as being particularly hard to find. Much of this could be chalked up to learning something new, though. Actual video pages are no longer customizable, but the main profile pages still allow for personalized background images.

Those fearing change shouldn't worry too much, at least not yet. For now, Cosmic Panda is opt-in only which means that you can turn it on and off at will. What this test holds for the future of YouTube users remains to be seen, but you can count that we'll see at least some of these changes in a future redesign.

Want to try it out for yourself? Check out the official Cosmic Panda page to get started.

What's in a .Com?

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:43:58 GMT

The internet is about to become a much more expressive (and confusing) place. Starting next year, the "internet overlords" at ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) announced that it will allow companies (not individuals or sole proprietorships) to register for a variety of "personalized" TLDs (top level domains).

The Cost of Ownership

Currently there are over 250 TLDs (including gTLD and ccTLD), some of which you're familiar with like .com, .org, .gov, and .edu. This announcement from ICANN means that companies will now be able to create their own TLD-- for instance .mcdonalds or .nike. This novelty won't come cheap, however, as PCMag.com reports that "applicants must pay a $185,000 evaluation fee, with $5,000 upfront... maybe even more." Mashable adds that there will be an "annual fee of $25,000."

New ParagraphRegarding the news Rod Beckstrom, president and CEO of ICANN, stated that “ICANN has opened the Internet’s addressing system to the limitless possibilities of the human imagination. No one can predict where this historic decision will take us.”

I've got a few ideas for Beckstrom, but most of them result in TLDs becoming extinct and/or irrelevant. In addition to the recent ICANN, .CO ( http://www.cointernet.co/ ) has been leading the charge for it's TLD since last summer and Dashworlds' ( http://www.dashworlds.com/ ) unique (and free) "dashcom" domains already offer enough lawsuits-waiting-to-happen and confusion.

Social Search: A Sign of Things to Come

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:26:28 GMT

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A relatively new term, social search is being touted by some as the next evolution of regular search engines. The biggest difference between Regular Search and Social Search is that normal search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) rank websites based on keywords, page descriptions, and page titles. Social Search, on other hand, rank results based on the relevancy of content to your social connections such as those found on Blogger, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and more.

As the forerunner of search engines, Google is already leading the pack with it's Google +1 Button , which we discussed previously, in addition to using it's own profile network to return social search results (as explained in the video above). In fact, it was reported that Google recently changed its algorithm to make social content even more relevant in search results.

Why does it matter?

Google's recent announcement is only a small step for the company and one that should be seen as a sign of things to come. Essentially, what this means for businesses is that they'll need to start becoming more active in sharing social content in order to achieve better SEO (search engine optimization).

While the factors mentioned (keywords, descriptions, titles) above will still make a difference, original social content will soon become key to competing with other business on the internet-- all of whom are campaigning for attention.

How you can get started

I recently read a great article by author Jeff Korhan on the Social Media Examiner that gave some great advice on being proactive about social search. Some of the basics included:

Claiming your business on Google and Facebook Places
Creating a Twitter/Facebook account and enabling Location feature
Using social check-in applications such as Foursquare to engage with customers
Monitoring your brand in real-time using SocialMention or a similar platform

Most important to remember, however, is that social content is about sharing (both information and entertainment). The better you are able to communicate with prospects and customers, the more likely your chances of getting shared (and seen) are.

Photoshop Touch SDK helps Designers get Mobile

Mon, 16 May 2011 16:41:33 GMT

Adobe's new tablet integration

Last month Adobe took it's first, real step towards integrating its designer suite of software (specifically Photoshop) with tablet devices such as the iPad thanks to the launch of its Photoshop Touch SDK . This new synchronization between mobile devices and Adobe allows designers to use a tablet device in previously unexplored ways, though I'm sure that it won't be long before we begin seeing some of the more creative applications before too long.

There are currently three apps available that allow users to ability to work between tablets and Photoshop: Eazel, Color Lava, and Nav . As you might expect these three offer a variety of arts-related functions, the first two being more paint-oriented while Nav enables user to communicate directly to Photoshop's tool palette from their tablet device.

Honestly, I'm a bit behind the curve of tablet technology- having only briefly experienced the Wacom tablets in college around the time when they first became popular. At the time I found it to be an awkward system and that's probably why I've been hesitant to go back, but with the popularity of the iPad and similar tablet devices I might just reconsider using a tablet sooner than later.

What do you think about Adobe's new tablet integration-- good idea, bad idea? Have you a chance to test the new apps yet?

How's Your Reception?

Wed, 11 May 2011 16:34:15 GMT

Advice on Tuning into the Right Marketing Channels

First off, I suppose we should begin by defining what a marketing channel is and how they work. Marketing channels, in short, are the ways in which you communicate with potential customers on a daily (sometimes even hourly) basis. Knowing what some of the basic channels are and how they operate can make them powerful tools for managing your marketing efforts both online and off.

Most marketing companies would agree that there are four primary channels (with Mobile quickly becoming a fifth channel). These four channels are as follows: Physical , Web , Social , and Email . Despite a few similarities, these four channels each pose a unique opportunity to convey your marketing (or brand) message and can even expose your business to a previously new audience.

Physical

As its name would imply, the Physical marketing channel refers to any outlet in which you or your brand make a physical connection to a potential customer in the real world (sorry, the Matrix doesn't count). This channel could include Affiliate Marketing, Sales/Cold Calls, and Print Advertisements (magazines, newspapers, billboards).

Web

In the world of online marketing there are a plethora of ways to connect, but specifically for the Web marketing channel we're referring to generating content (text, images, video). This content is, for the most part, static which means that it is more of a one-way path of communication. In other words you're sending a message out to potential customers that allow them to act, but not respond. Strategies in the Web channel typically include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click/Banner Advertising, Online PR, and Blogging/Article Writing.

Social

Within the Web channel lies the Social marketing segment which, moreso than Web, focuses on providing content that allows for an open discussion online. Social marketing has received a lot of attention thanks in part to the popularity of platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. Although these are the most popular platforms, there are literally countless others that each cater to their own audience (including our very own River Region Online ). The thing to remember about Social marketing is that it requires constant maintenance. Interaction is key here and simply creating an account just won't do.

Email

In conjunction with Social marketing, Email Marketing offers one of the most effective methods to cultivating a loyal customer base that finds value in your message. Email marketing is also one of the most inexpensive channels, considering that many services now offer integration with many of the Social channels such as the aforementioned.

Mobile

Back in January ( 2011: The Year of Mobile Marketing? ) we mentioned the growing emphasis of Mobile marketing on the advertising industry and how you might be able to take advantage of it for your business. Although the mobile boom hasn't quite reached its max potential, it would be unwise to overlook the potential exposure this channel offers with the ability to place your message in the pockets of countless customers.

Next time...

In the next post we'll discuss some ways in which to use each channel to the best effect and how to identify what types of customers are most receptive to which channels.

The Basics of a Productive Content Strategy

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:46:29 GMT

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In the past, when building a website, it was considered acceptable to simply create a design and fill it with content. However, that "strategy" only uses 10% of your website's total potential as a marketing tool. What you really need is a Content Strategy.

Defining a Content Strategy

Content is commonly defined as any text, image, video, podcast, or link that can be used towards influencing a user/client's experience online. Therefore a content strategy is the process by which you share content that will engage your audience and convert them into customers.

Why is it Important?

You may be thinking: "Well, okay, that's sounds easy enough. I create content all the time." The difference, however, can be like night and day. We all create content every day, but how much of it really matters? Quantity doesn't always yield quality.

A content strategy helps you stay focused on generating the right kind of content that can be delivered to the right kind of audience. It helps you find a consistent voice and prevents you from wasting time, money, and other resources on content that's not achieving the results you need.

Where to Start

The first step in any strategy should always be to define your goal. Do you want to sell more products or do you wish to become a thought leader in your industry? Often times these goals can cross over, but you should always have a purpose to any marketing effort you employ.

Once you've established a purpose you can then begin to get more specific: defining what kind of content you need to write, who should create it, where it will be most useful (website, social media profiles), and how often it should be published.

How to Identify Poor Content

This is perhaps the trickiest part of content strategy. The most obvious identifier of poor content is that it's not helping you achieve your goals (ie. selling more product or building brand recognition). Another common mistake is ignoring important keywords for link building and boosting traffic.

However, one of the most overlooked aspects of poor content is that it fails to understand your audience's needs. When you lose site of your content's purpose it will become less engaging and ultimately ignored by your audience.

Need help?

The crew here at Productive I.T. is always ready to assist you with any design, development or marketing need you may have. Drop us a line or give us a call and let us know how we can help.

Looking Ahead: Google Gets Social

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:30:58 GMT

With Facebook and Twitter dominating the social marketplace it seems that Google is now preparing to make their second step (the first being Google Buzz ) with the Google +1 Button as the video below shows. Although it’s technically still an experiment by Google Labs, the Google +1 Button could cause some pretty serious waves should it catch on.

Essentially, the +1 Button works just like Facebook’s Like button in that it allows those connected to you to view sites that you’ve given your approval to. Google can then take these results and, once signed in to your Google account, display them when you do a search. Google has also hinted about carrying the concept over to ads, articles, and even websites—completely changing the way we look at search engine optimization (SEO).

Aden Hepburn, over at DigitalBuzzBlog , brought up a few good points about the potential for the same “click fraud” that initially plagued early banner ads, in addition to the possibilities of mining this new data for recommendation engines. Of course this also benefits Google’s own social profiles which are (naturally) required for the full experience to be effective. Should be an interesting year for SEO.

What is the “Power of Pull?”

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:34:30 GMT

Although it can be said that “new media” (what some refer to as interactive media) is no longer new, there is still a sense that we all have much to learn about the tools it consists of and the lexicon it has created. For example, I only recently encountered the term “power of pull” thanks to an article I read called 7 Blogging Mistakes the Small Businesses Make . Authors John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davidson probably captured the concept best in their book The Power of Pull: Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion.

“Pull allows each of us to find and access people and resources when we need them, while attracting to us the people and resources that are relevant and valuable, even if we were not even aware before that they existed.”

In relation to the article I mentioned previously, the power of pull is a rather new way of viewing the business/client relationship—one in which providing your customers with valuable, interesting content (information) takes precedence over a 30 sec sales pitch or advertisement. In a larger sense, pull allows us as individuals and as businesses to “harness and unleash the forces of attraction, influence, and serendipity” in such a way that both entities achieve their potential.

The more value you provide, the stronger your pull.

While it may sound like metaphysics to some, the power of pull has always existed in some form or another since the beginning of advertising. Big picture: it refers to the promise of enhancing one’s sense of self-worth and (on a larger level society) by utilizing the tools/content you provide... only slightly less deceitful. Ever notice how much happier people seem on those car commercials you see on TV? The difference between that and pull is you’re not offering to sell the solution (not outright at least)—instead you’re establishing yourself as a source of value, giving people the tools and knowledge they need to make their own decision.

Productive I.T. Named One of Constant Contact’s 2010 All Stars

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:34:00 GMT

We here at Productive I.T. are proud to announce that we've been recognized as a 2010 All Star by Constant Contact® , Inc., "the trusted marketing advisor to more than 400,000 small organizations worldwide." As one of Constant Contact's 2010 top performers and most prolific user of its tools, Productive I.T. has been able to assist many of its clients make the most of their overall marketing effort while strengthening the engagement they have with their own customers.

“We work hard to listen to our customers, and we use that feedback to create products and services designed to help them better engage with their customers and prospects,” said Gail Goodman, chairman, president and CEO of Constant Contact. “The Constant Contact All Star Awards are our way of recognizing our customers that have successfully used Constant Contact to market their companies. We have some of the most committed, passionate customers out there and we’re proud we can be a part of their continued success.”

What is a Brand? Going Beyond the Logo

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:11:33 GMT

In today's world of touch-and-go media marketing it's important to seize every opportunity you can to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Traditionally, companies have been able to come up with a logo, perhaps a "clever" strapline, and plaster it on their advertisements while calling it a day. Not so anymore.

While a logo is often considered to be a company's most visually recognizable brand element, it should never be to be-all-end-all of your branding efforts. A logo, as paraphrased by Wikipedia, is a "supporting device that maintains visual continuity and brand recognition across all physical manifestations of the brand." In short, a logo is only one part of your brand (albeit an important one).

More than Just a Logo

Beyond the logo a brand is an abstract concept that describes the overall experience that customers receive through a variety of elements (logo, color, typefaces, strapline, and marketing). The most significant step in achieving a strong brand is to keep everything consistent- set boundaries on what can and cannot be done. This means defining how your logo can or cannot be displayed, where you choose to place your ads, and what specific colors should be used at all times.

"A brand is an abstract concept that describes the overall experience that customers receive through a variety of elements (logo, color, typefaces, strapline, and marketing). "

Who would your product or service appeal to the most: a 4 year olds or a 24 year old? Are you marketing to other businesses or to individuals? What's the typical behavior of your target audience, are they always mobile (iPhone, Twitter, YouTube) or do they spend more time reading (magazine, newspapers)? Understanding the right channels to use (Facebook vs LinkedIn) will make a huge difference in positioning your brand better than your competition.

Best Buy, a Good Example

One of the best examples of smart branding currently is electronic giant, Best Buy. Through the use of consistency, Best Buy's tech-savvy brand is unmistakable whether it's on Twitter, Facebook, magazines, flyers, or television. Best Buy even takes this a step further with the unique design of each storefront, emphasizing to customers the company's "cutting-edge" appeal.

Can you see how Best Buy uses its logo in addition to color, typefaces and layout to achieve its presence? Consistency doesn't have to mean that everything looks the same, only that they abide by the same principles you choose to define. The result is a clearly defined experience for their customers and a stronger brand presence in the marketplace.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:03:13 GMT

At Productive I.T. the staff always enjoys a chance to celebrate and have a bit of harmless fun around the office. So in celebration of St. Patrick's Day we had ourselves a little leprechaun hunt in hopes of getting some of that infamous "pot 'o gold." We even set out some cookies to catch the little bugger, but then remembered that only works on Santa Claus. We did manage to draw out some mini RRO ( River Region Online ) creatures, so it wasn't a total loss.

Check out even more photos on our Facebook page .

Facebook announces "Deals" Coming Soon

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:46:32 GMT

According to web-related news site The Next Web, Facebook has announced their intentions to launch a Groupon-inspired ecommerce service that would allow businesses to offer discounts and products to their followers. With a member base of several hundred million, this move essentially opens up a massively new stream of marketing which could prove to be a substantial blow to Groupon, LivingSocial and similar sites.

Facebook will begin with several small business in select cities for blowing the gates wide open. It's an intimidating initiative to be sure, but one that has already seen some exposure in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK since early 2011 as Facebook Deals . Deals works much like a cross between sites like Groupon and FourSquare where users can "check in" on Facebook at specific locations to receive any special deals that might be available there.

Why Social Media Makes a Difference for Small Business

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:51:29 GMT

With so many options available to connect with customers, not to mention all of the tasks required just to keep the day-to-day aspects of your business functioning, you many find the prospect of entering the maelstrom of social media more than a little daunting. Not becoming involved, however, even in the slightest way, could be having a unseen (and growing) negative impact on your business.

I'm sure that you've heard of tools like Twitter, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Vimeo . If not over the course of your own experience than on television, your kids, or your business partners and peers. These tools have changed the way in which we work, play and even how we live our daily lives. In short they matter and they're beginning to matter to more and more people every day.

These people, your employees and your customers, are using these tools to rapidly change the way that modern marketing (and to a degree society) works. The ease and accessibility of things like Twitter and Facebook especially allow you to interact directly with your customers on their level. This sort of relationship also tends to make them better customers.

There have been some amazing stories, from both large corporations and small business, emerge from the proper leveraging of social media and each share a common element: engagement. Social media allows you to genuinely engage your customers (and even employees) by allowing them to express their feedback and opinions on your product/service, participate in exclusive information/announcements, and build buzz (ie. interest) in your message. The point being, if you don't have a social media strategy in place, you're losing out on an entire fan base.

But perhaps, as I mentioned above, you don't have the time or skill to use social media effectively. That's where we can help guide you through the process, making it even simpler for you to not only create all of the social profiles you'll need, but manage them as well.

For more information on how our Internet Marketing services can help you, be sure to drop us a line or give us a call at 334-356-3561.

New Starbucks Ident Launches Today

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:20:36 GMT

As the official 40th anniversary of the coffee giant, Starbucks, the company has chosen to launch an all new "wordless" logo. Going a more minimalistic route, Starbucks' new duds feature an unshakable version of their infamous mermaid with all the words removed from it. A bold move to be sure, but one not so different than Nike's swoosh or McDonald's golden arches. It definitely conveys a confidence in both the brand and in the loyalty of its customer.

The mermaid herself has also received a few nips and tucks according to Senior Creative Manager of Starbucks in-house team, Mike P, "...we enhanced her form in subtle ways, smoothing her hair, refining her facial features, weighting the scales on her tail to bring the focus to her face. We enlisted the branding firm of Lippincott to help with these refinements, and give us a better global perspective on the entire identity system."

As a design element, this new evolution is a beautiful step in the right direction and looks simply amazing on the company's collateral materials (cups, bags, products, etc). Starbucks is probably one of the few exceptions (alongside those mentioned above) that has enough reach and recognition to pull something like this off and it's refreshing to see someone taking such a bold creative step towards creating something different.

Enticing Readers Down the Rabbit Hole

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:54:33 GMT

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Our PIT leader (Hanan) recently shared an interesting article with me entitled, Life: Below 600px by an Irish web designer named Paddy Donnelly that really struck a chord. In the article, Donnelly conveys the article's point with a clever visual demonstration that flips the current trend of placing all of a site's premium content "above the fold" (an industry term for the space immediately viewable in a browser window, much like a newspaper that has been folded).

Reward Visitors for Scrolling

While he's not the first to cover the topic, Donnelly nonetheless incites his readers to buck the golden rule of cramming as much information above the fold as possible for a more mischievous, and admittedly sensical, approach where readers are encouraged to scroll the entire length of a page and are ultimately rewarded for doing so . This reward could be monetary (a special discount), the exchange of important information, or even just a strong call to action. Donnelly makes a lot of good points, many of which are being employed (either consciously or not) by websites that have begun focusing more attention on their footers. For instance, here at Productive I.T. we've placed a lot of useful support information, our e-newsletter signup form, and a fun team illustration that changes every month all at the footer of our site.

Invite People Down the Rabbit Hole

As both a designer and a reader I can appreciate the unification between a site's content (it's message) and it's overall design that Donnelly is hinting at. Oftentimes, I'll find myself immediately drawn to the footer of a site for (dare I say) the instant gratification of being able to find exactly what I need. Alternatively, while still arguably effective, the big header images that have become a stable of many designs can be accused of being over bearing at times (kind of like a billboard on the interstate). That's not to say that either method is better than the other, both have their place in design. However, it does bring up some new ways to employ these tools (header images, footers) to convey a site's message. Don't be afraid to be creative... invite your visitors down the rabbit hole every once in awhile.

Further Reading:
IAmPaddy: Life Below 600 px
Below the Fold: Why Scrolling Isn’t A Bad Thing
Debunking the Myth of the Page Fold in Web Design

Featured Site: Sanitech Janitorial Services

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:45:04 GMT

Welcome to a new feature here on the PIT Blog entitled Featured Sites where every week or so we'll feature a new small business website that we've launched in an effort to support that business and help you learn more about them.

"Centrally located in Montgomery, Alabama, Sanitech, Inc. has been providing exceptional commercial and industrial cleaning services for almost two decades with a professionally trained staff who take pride in providing clean, professional work environments."

On their site you can learn all about their scheduled janitorial services which covers everything from Floor Striping, Floor Waxing, General Cleaning, Day Portering, and more! Visit them today and don't forget... If you're office is a wreck, call Sanitech!

Wild Kingdom Unleashed! Montgomery Zoo Website Launched!

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:48:22 GMT

Wild Kingdom Unleashed! Montgomery Zoo Website Launched!

Today, Productive I.T. is pleased to announce the launch of the brand new Montgomery Zoo website www.montgomeryzoo.com/ , a bold new look for one of Montgomery's biggest attractions.

This site is the result of months of hard work done by our design and production team here at Productive I.T. in coordination with the City of Montgomery and the Montgomery Zoo. At MontgomeryZoo.com, visitors can now better experience all the wild terrain that the zoo has to offer from "the jungles of South America" to "the savannahs of Africa and the hilltops of Asia."

With the launch of new site, the zoo is now able to offer a variety of rich content with easy access to all the latest events and attractions. MontgomeryZoo.com is designed to provide an excellent user experience and features a revamped menu system, newsletter registration, ecommerce (membership registration and donations), and even an Interactive Zoo Map with animal bios that enhance the site's educational value and makes planning your next visit simpler than ever.

We encourage you to visit the new Montgomery Zoo website today and be sure let us know what you think.

Add a Facebook "Like" Widget to your Productive Sites!

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:17:46 GMT

How to add a Like Box

You can add a Like Box to your site in similar manner as you add a Like button. First if you haven't installed Facebook Social Plugins before, go to Control Panel > Applications and installing it from there.

Then from Add Content , choose Facebook Plugin and select the green area on your page where you want to add the box. Next, select the Like Box, enter the URL of your company's Facebook Page, set options and click Add. If you need help setting up a Facebook Page or any sort of social media profile, feel free to ask about our Internet Marketing services.

The Art of the “About Us” Page

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:32:50 GMT

Although you should always strive to make every page on your website as unique and conducive to your brand as possible, nowhere is this more important (or evident) as your About Us page. Often times, this page will serve to define the entirety of a visitor’s first impression so it would be wise to make sure that first impression is a good one. There are several ways in which you can best optimize your About Us page to achieve increased sales, some of which we’ll cover here.

Don’t be generic

When it comes to writing the content for your page, you should avoid using copious amounts of industry jargon or technical terms that your visitors may not understand. Likewise, NEVER use generic content that has been pre-packaged for you or is being used by someone else. This comes off not only as unoriginal, but dishonest and will likely cause visitors to completely overlook anything else you may have to offer. Whether you know it or not, your company does have a unique purpose, belief, or philosophy- tap into those ideals in order to convey your story. Got a nice signature? Use it to add your personal stamp of approval, and thus a sense of authority, to your message.

Be clever… but please, no smiley faces

Don’t be afraid to let your company’s personality shine through. If you and your team have a humorous disposition, then show it. Don’t be afraid to scribble outside the lines every now and again to interject that part of your brand, but always remember your audience. People are generally more likely to do business with someone who they can relate to and/or like. So what if you’re not the biggest or most well known company on the block? You’ve got personality! (Hey, it means more than you think.)'

Use lots of photos/artwork/video

You can go even further with your About Us page by allowing your staff to submit their bios, photos, hobbies, blogs, and points of contact (email or social media). If possible, post a video or photo gallery showcasing you and your staff both at work and at play- doing so will allow visitors to feel closer to you physically. You may even choose to feature an Employee of the Month (be sure to update this regularly).

Do be sociable

Social media has become a powerful tool not only in networking with potential clients and collaborators, but also driving traffic to your website or blog. Although it does require a commitment to maintaining your profile and fostering relationships online, integrating social media into your site (specifically as a point of contact with your staff or yourself) proves that you are willing to embrace an open dialogue and that you have nothing to hide.

Provide testimonials

In a virtual world where a review on Yelp carries more weight than just about any ad campaign it’s important that you understand the importance of word-of-mouth. Oftentimes, companies either completely unaware or, even worse, just don’t care to manage their reputation online. Those companies are missing out on not only cultivating good reviews into strong testimonials, but they’re also passing by ideal opportunities to convert critics into customers. People like to be voice their opinions (just take a look at Twitter), so give them the chance to be heard.

Define a “call to action”

Most times, visitors to your site will either know exactly what they want and where to get it or they’re just interested in learning more (aka browsing). Those who know what they want make your job pretty easy, but they are most likely dedicated customers already. Your goal should be to convert those visitors who are still undecided, they could either purchase something from you or the 50 million other Google search results that came up alongside your site. Give them some direction by employing a strong, simple call to action. This could be a brightly-colored button that says “Buy Now” or “ Free Trial ” or “ Subscribe to Our Newsletter ,” but be sure that it’s noticeable and attractive.

These are but a few of many strategies that will help you take the most advantage of your site’s About Us page, increasing traffic and boosting sales conversions. Key to all of these, however, is a commitment to continuously improving your content. Doing so will add a “value experience” to your site that visitors cannot get anywhere else on the internet. Remember, no matter how large the internet may seem you and your staff are collectively the most valuable marketing tool you possess.

2011: The Year of Mobile Marketing?

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:27:16 GMT

Apparently it's supposed to be the next big thing. Everyone in the industry has either been talking about it, blogging about it, or tweeting about it. Heck, I even attended a lecture the other day about it by David Grayson from Atlanta-based LSN Mobile! But what, exactly, is mobile marketing and why is it important to your business?

At its core, mobile marketing is nothing new. Ever got one of those annoying late night text messages from some company touting their latest effort to save you money (but not sleep)? That's essentially mobile marketing; however, perhaps not the best example. Mobile marketing is, when used properly, a permission-based form of marketing that empowers a customer to decide whether or not they want "opt-in" to receive your marketing message. If they agree, you’re in. If they don't, at least you’re not wasting your time, money, and effort on someone who isn't interested.

Unlike television, print, radio, or even the web, mobile marketing relies mostly on overtly simple actionable ads that drive customers to either A) subscribe or B) take action. This action could be to call your 1-800 number, visit your mobile website, or even download your latest app. Regardless of the call to action you are prompting them to take must be simple and easy enough to complete on the go. An example provided during the lecture I attended used mobile coupons to influence the shopping habits of customers in real time, offering what is known as a “double opt-in” to capture both the customer’s attention as well as their contact information with the promise of more discounts in the future.

As the technology of mobile phones (particularly smart phones such as the iPhone and Android), not to mention the iPad and similar tablets progresses, we can most certainly expect more sophisticated methods of marketing opportunities to emerge. Companies such as Foursquare have already lead the charge for using more location-based social media through the power of mobile technology in 2010, as did Gowalla , and that trend doesn't appear to be slowing down. In fact, mobile marketing has the uncanny ability to connect all other forms of marketing in a personalized, cohesive way and as technologies such as 4G improve, I can only imagine that we’ll be given bigger and better solutions of what kind of immersive marketing potential the mobile arena holds.

Featured Site: Datashred

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:51:57 GMT

Check out the new site!

It's been awhile since I've been able to get back on the blogging saddle, but I'm setting my sights back on "Our Productive Blog" for some fresh news, reviews, and featured sites every week... including today's featured site, Datashred !

Although we've only recently launched their new website, Datashred has been around for quite some time as one of Montgomery's premier document destruction service providers. As a member of NAID they also adhere to the strictest of industry standards, meaning your documents will be disposed of with the utmost security and the most state-of-the-art destruction equipment.

Just listen to what their clients have to say:
“This is just a note of thanks to you and Datashred for helping us during the last year. When we changed to your company, we were not certain whether we would be happy with the service, however, we have been very happy with it and we appreciate the excellent way that you and your company go about taking care of business. As you know, in our business it is pretty important to assure security of documents and confidentiality. We feel very comfortable and pleased with the service that you have provided. We appreciate the great service.”

Site Launch: SMI Advertising

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:56:25 GMT

Don't miss this new site!!!

5 Foundations for Successful Web Design

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:54:47 GMT

I recently read a great article on American Express' OPEN Forum site that discussed how important web design is to a person's online customer experience. These could be customers coming to your site to buy products or services or simply people looking for more information on who you are and what you do. Regardless, the importance that your website design has is no different. Both large companies and small can suffer equally from a design that is either poorly developed or amateurishly executed.

The article I read, written by Matt Silverman of Mashable, went on to discuss several samples of small business websites that professional web designers selected as not only some the better looking small business websites, but the most effective as well. Though many of the sites chosen for that article were from larger cities all across the world, it got me thinking of what fundamental elements they had in common.

Among the most referenced compliment towards these sites, each designer noted how effectively the sites' design conveyed an overall personality or "feel." More specifically, each design used a combination of "colors, typography, textures, and photography" to express it's desired appeal. This appeal could be luxury, simplicity, or simply an appreciation for customer satisfaction but the real key is that they each strike a chord with their intended target audience.

It's crucial not to overstate the importance of any one element to create this affect. As such, the following is a list of the most common elements which work together to form a strong brand message and thus a better user experience.

Logo

Although an awesome logo alone will not provide enough resonance with a visitor to create that sense of trust or entertainment, the time invested in a logo that speaks to your core audience will reassure them that they can trust you.

Header/Hero Image

A strong header graphic (or rotation of images) should convey a consistent brand message to customers. Think of this image (or images) as bullet points in your company's core characteristics. Each header should be indicative of a different part of your overall culture both in its imagery and any text that might be included.

Background

Often times, a website's background can be used to add an additional level of depth to a customer's experience. For instance, in the example above with Half Shell Oyster , we brought the restaurant's laid-back, coastal them into the background which not only created a richer experience while viewing it, but also helps to further communicate the company's culture.

Typography

Believe it or not, the style of typography (or fonts) you use both on your website and in your marketing materials can say a lot about you (whether you intend it to or not). For the most part, serif fonts (those with the little edges on them like Times New Roman) are often used by businesses to project a more authoritative position in the minds of customers. This style of font is often used by larger organizations such as law firms, investment companies, banks, etc.

Another important factor to consider when selecting fonts is size. The larger a font is depicted the more urgent and "louder" your message is perceived. Of course, no one likes to be screamed at all the time so it's best to use such devices sparingly.

Colors

Finally, colors have quite a large impact on a visitor's experience on a psychological level. That's not to say that there exists some magical color palette which will trick people into buying your goods and services, moreso it infers that we (as humans) have developed a sense of color-oriented instinct that provides us with certain clues in dealing with a given situation. As an example, traffic lights are all built with three different colors: green (go), yellow (caution), and red (danger). These cues are generally universal and, to some degree, also affect how a person can view your website.

Though there are exceptions to every rule, the behavioral patterns associated with color is for the most part consistent; warm colors such as red, yellow, and orange signify a fight or flight response while cool colors provide a more soothing and less urgent atmosphere. No color choice is either wrong or right, however, it should nonetheless be a deciding factor when planning you web design.

Motivate Your Team with a Seasonal Tradition

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:07:19 GMT

'Tis the Season to by Jolly

It's December (man, that was quick) and the holiday season is in full swing with Black Friday and Cyber Monday now only a memory. More important than special sales and deep discounts, December is a time for families of all types to come together in celebration of the traditions that keeps us together (good times and the bad). Likewise, you and your employees form another sort of family that has its own set of traditions that you can choose to celebrate on a weekly basis (company luncheons) or yearly (holiday parties).

Keeping these traditions alive within your company is one of the most effective ways to boost morale and improve a team building atmosphere in which your employees are motivated to succeed. After all, a productive team is the lifeblood of any business but even moreso in a small business. Setting aside designated occasions for celebration throughout the year provides employees something they can look forward to as a reward for their hard work, especially during the holidays.

Traditions can take the form of a nice Christmas dinner, casual lunch, or even wearing a certain color for a make-believe holiday (Purple Shirt Thursdays). Additional ideas might include volunteering at a local charity event or soup kitchen, hosting a Halloween costume contest, Free Doughnut Fridays, canned food drive, pot luck luncheon, holding a themed office-decorating contest and so on. You'll be surprised to discover just how much your employees will appreciate the traditions you create and even happier to see what an impact a positive workplace will have on productivity.

So what're you waiting for? Go forth and party down!

New Productive Sites Design: Atlas!

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:06:48 GMT

The team here at Productive I.T. is proud to present the latest addition to our design library: Atlas.

Featuring a much-requested, trendy page layout where the header, navigation and footer span the entire browser width, Atlas comes in 8 distinctive color themes. Each theme comes with a brand new page header image that is perfect for text-photo combination and supports our new Page Image Slides how feature.

Productive I.T. News & Updates

Revamping Rachel Mickenberg's Website

A Vibrant Transformation

Top 4 Ways To Help Your Website Pop

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1( Color Pallette

2( Pictures That Pop

3( Catchy Verbaige

4) Mobile Friendly

Top 3 Benefits Of Partnering With A Digital Marketing Agency

1( Better Manage Your Time!

2( A Cost-Efficient Method

3( Your Marketing Managed by the Pros

The Ultimate 'Schema' to Success

What is 'Schema' and Why is it Important?

'Schema' Your Way to the Top!

A Whole New Storefront

The Artist's Storefront

Refunds

Automated Tax Application

Putting the 'O' in Search Engine Optimization

Introducing More Ways to Manage Your SEO

Google, No Indexing!

Alt Text and Tabs

Manage Your Content Your Way!

Our Content Library has everything you need to show your audience exactly what you are about!

Media Manager

Expanded Stock Library

UnoCMS August 2023 Update

Google Tag Manager

Flex Improvements

Auto Reply for Contact Forms

Media Slider

Native Store Updates

Bullet Points Are Getting An Upgrade

Now Introducing...Workshop Wednesdays!

The Best No-Cost Solution for You!

Your 2022 Checklist

What to consider when you don't know what to consider

New Feature for Uno CMS

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors. Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

How to Article

There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we see it. ﻿

"There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we see it."

- Alan Dershowitz

New Website Launched

Before you go to court, make sure you know what you can (and cannot) say.

7 P's of a Positive Marketing Strategy

Achieve maximum results in today's marketplace

Gift of Life Foundation

We gave a face to their mission

Chris Niel Music

Local artist website goes live

Renascence Rack Cards Arrival

Promoting with style

Look Who Came to Training!

A great day of training

5 Tips to Make Facebook More Effective for Your Business

Facebook working for you!

Macon East Academy

Macon East is now LIVE!

Leadership Montgomery

Leadership Montgomery is Live!

New Age Home Builders Launch

New Age Home Builders' site is launching today.

Check it out!

Wilson Shaw IT is Now Live

What a great site!

Content Strategy Explained

Get the most benefit out of your site

SiteTips

A New Website Series from ProductiveIT

What is SiteTips?

The Inaugural Video: Editing a Page

LEL International's Website is Live!

We're excited to release yet another client's website into the Wide open Web! Check it out at LELinternational.com !

5 Tips to Make Twitter More Effective for Your Business

Branding one tweet at a time!

Why Responsive Design Matters

How to Use Google Analytics

There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we see it.